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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 
HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


THE 


PKESIDENTS 


THE    UNITED    STATES 


WASHINGTON  TO  CLEVELAND 


COMPRISING 


BY 

JOHN   FROST,  LL.D. 

BROUGHT  DOWN  TO  THE   PRESENT   TIME  BY 

HARRY    W.    FRENCH 


BOSTON  1880 
LEE    AND    SHEPARD    PUBLISHERS 

10  MILK  STREET  NEXT  "  THE  OLD  SOUTH  MEETING-HOUSE  " 

NEW  YORK  CHARLES  T.  DILL1NOIIAM 

718  AND  720  BROADWAY 


COPYRIGHT,  1868,  BY  LEE  AND  SHEPARD. 


Ml  rights  reserved. 


' 


PEEFAOE. 


THERE  can  be  no  more  interesting  subjects  for  study 
than  the  lives  of  those  who  have  been  chosen  by  the 
free  suffrage  of  a  great  nation  to  administer  the 
government.  From  their  career,  we  may  discover 
what  qualities  and  what  practices  most  certainly  lead 
to  honor  and  renown,  and  gain  a  knowledge  of  the 
character  and  progress  of  the  people,  by  seeing  who 
have  -been  their  favorites.  These  things  are  for  the 
world  to  acquire.  Americans  may  find  many  other  mat- 
ters to  interest  them  in  these  biographies.  The  lover 
of  his  country  and  her  institutions  has  a  deep  concern  in 
becoming  acquainted  with  every  portion  of  their  history, 
which  cannot  be  attained  without  studying  the  lives 
of  those  men  who  founded,  improved,  defended,  and 
sustained  the  government. 

The  Presidents  of  the  United  States  form  a  bright 
galaxy,  of  which  few  countries  can  produce  a  parallel. 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

Warriors  and  statesmen,  equal  to  every  emergency,  have 
been  raised  to  the  great  chair  of  state  with  that  un- 
erring sagacity  which  is  characteristic  of  a  free  and 
enlightened  nation. 

We  have  not  thought  a  full  history  of  the  various  ad- 
ministrations within  the  scope  of  our  work.  Our  object 
has  been  to  give  a  clear  view  of  the  whole  career  of  each 
President.  The  discussion  of  measures  does  not  form 
a  part  of  genuine  biography,  and  can  only  serve  to 
render  a  book  like  the  present  obnoxious  to  many 
readers. 

Since  the  time  of  Jackson,  we  believe,  it  has  become 
a  custom,  to  publish  full  biographies  of  all  candidates 
for  the  Presidency  as  soon  as  they  are  nominated.  Of 
course,  these  "  lives  and  services  "  are  subjected  to  the 
severest  criticism  of  antagonistic  politicians,  and  the 
truth  is  thus  elicited.  In  this  country,  good  men  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  discussion.  Slanders  will  be  set 
afoot,  but  when  disproved,  they  will  die.  It  is  a  fact  — 
perhaps,  a  lamentable  fact  —  that  no  man  can  stand  as  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency,  without  being  exposed  to 
the  worst  shafts  of  party  malignity.  His  best  acts  will 
be  misrepresented  —  and  those  which,  though  unwise, 
were  only  the  consequences  of  mistaken  judgment,  be 


PEEFACE.  5 

distorted,  so  as  to  appear  the  fruits  of  a  wicked  heart. 
But  Justice  has  a  brow  like  the  sky ;  the  clouds  will  be 
swept  away,  and  she  will  smile  upon  the  pure  and  true. 
In  ancient  Rome,  men  followed  the  hero  in  his  triumph 
with  revilings,  to  check  his  pride.  In  our  country,  men 
assail  the  character  of  candidates  for  high  office  to  find 
the  true  gold  of  honesty  and  capacity. 


CONTENTS, 


G-EOKGE  WASHINGTON 9 

JOHN  ADAMS 49 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON 65 

JAMES  MADISON 91 

JAMES  MONROE 125 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS 139 

ANDREW  JACKSON 187 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN        ........  257 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON       .       .       .  '     .       .       .   '    .  271 

JOHN  TYLER 305 

JAMES  KNOX  POLK 323 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR 355 

MlLLARD   FlLLMORE 387 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE 393 

JAMES  BUCHANAN 405 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 427 

ANDREW  JOHNSON 461 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 475 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES 497 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD 505 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 523 

GROVER  CLEVELAND  537 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

IN  entering  on  the  delineation  of  the  life  and  character 
of  the  immortal  Washington,  we  feel  as  if  we  were  rising 
above  the  common  plain  of  humanity.  He  stands  upon  an 
eminence,  wrapped  in  purity,  serenity,  and  sublimity — a 
man,  yet  above  the  rest  of  mankind.  Whether  we  con- 
template him  as  a  boy,  forming  rules  for  the  guidance  of 
his  conduct,  and  employed  in  the  difficult  service  of  sur- 
veying the  savage  wilderness  —  as  a  provincial  colonel, 
saving  his  troops  from  the  consequences  of  a  .British 
general's  folly  — as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of 
independence,  snatching  his  country  from  the.  dark  pit 
of  despair,  defeating  disciplined  forces  with  a  handful  of 
half-starved  troops,  undaunted  by  the  saddest  reverses, 
striking  the  enemy  when  they  deemed  him  crushed  — 
retaining  the  confidence  of  the  mass  in  spite  of  cabals, 
intrigues  and  calumny  —  as  president,  when  he  might 
have  been  king,  carrying  into  successful  experiment 
a  new  and  glorious  system  of  government  —  and 
nobler  still,  as  a  true  patriot  and  republican,  retiring 

9 


10  LITES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

to  the  shades  of  private  life,  when  the  staff  of  power  might 
have  remained  in  his  hands  until  his  death — he  excites  in 
an  equal  degree,  our  wonder  and  admiration. 

George  Washington  was  descended  from  an  old  English 
family,  the  name  of  Washington  being  traceable  as  far  back 
as  the  thirteenth  century.  Most  of  the  members  belonged  to 
the  better  class  of  agriculturalists.  About  1657,  two  brothers, 
John  and  Lawrence  Washington,  emigrated  to  Virginia, 
and  settled  at  Bridge's  creek,  on  the  Potomac  river,  in  the 
county  of  Westmoreland.  The  brothers  bought  lands  and 
became  successful  planters.  Not  long  after,  John  Washington 
was  employed  in  a  military  command  against  the  Indians ; 
and  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  married  Anne  Pope, 
by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  Lawrence  and  John,  and  a 
daughter.  The  elder  son,  Lawrence,  married  Mildred 
Warner,  of  Gloucester  county,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, 
John,  Augustine,  and  Mildred.  Augustine,  the  second  son, 
was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  four  children. 
of  whom  two  died  in  iaiancy.  By  his  second  wife,  Mary 
Ball,  he  had  six  children,  George,  Betty,  Samuel,  John  Au- 
gustine, Charles,  and  Mildred.*  George  Washington,  the 
illustrious  father  of  his  country,  was  born  on  the  22d  of 
February,  1732. 

Each  of  the  sons  of  Augustine  Washington  inherited  from 
him  a  separate  plantation.  To  the  eldest,  Lawrence,  he 
bequeathed  an  estate  near  Hunting  Park,  afterwards  called 
Mount  Vernon.  The  second  son  had  for  his  part  an  estate 
in  Westmoreland.  To  George  were  left  the  lands  and  man- 
sion in  Stafford  county,  on  the  Rappahannock  river,  where 
his  father  had  died.  All  the  children  were  left  in  a  condi- 
tion of  independence.  Mrs.  Washington,  a  woman  of  strong 

»  Spark* 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  11 

sense,  prudence,  and  industry,  had  control  of  all  the  estates 
until  their  owners  came  of  age.  She  performed  the  difficult 
task  allotted  to  her,  with  entire  success — and  the  world 
should  give  her  the  same  tribute  of  respect  and  veneration 
which  has  been  awarded  to  the  mothers  of  all  truly  great 
men. 

The  province  of  Virginia  offered  but  scanty 'means  of 
education.  Enough  knowledge  for  a  practical  business  life 
was  the  most  that  could  be  obtained.  Reading,  writing, 
arithmetic,  and  the  mathematics,  were  alone  within  the 
reach  of  Washington.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  diligent 
student ;  but  that  his  passion  for  active  sports  and  military 
exercises  was  displayed  at  a  very  early  age.  He  delighted 
in  running,  jumping,  wrestling,  tossing  bars,  and  other  feats 
'of  strength  and  agility!"1*  Another  tradition  is  preserved 
which  is  quite  as  probable,  and  is  important,  as  illustrating 
the  growth  of  two  of  his  greatest  qualities.  It  is  said  that 
while  at  school  his  reputation  for  truth  and  judgment  was 
so  well  established,  that  his  fellow  pupils  were  accustomed 
to  make  him  the  arbiter  of  their  disputes,-  and  never  failed 
to  be  satisfied  with  his  decision. 

Besides  performing  what  was  required  of  him  in  the 
usual  routine  of  study,  the  young  Washington  compiled  a 
system  of  maxims  and  regulations,  and  arranged  them  under 
the  head  of  Rules  for  Behaviour  in  Company  and  Conver- 
sation. His  temper  was  ardent  and  his  passions  powerful. 
The  great  object  of  his  little  code  was  to  teach  himself  per- 
fect self-control,  which,  according  to  the  passionate  Burns, 
is  "wisdom's  root."  In  the  conquest  of  himself,  Washing- 
Con  perfectly  succeeded,  and  throughout  his  career  he 
retained  the  command  of  his  propensities. 

George  left  school  in  the  autumn  preceding  his  sixteenth 


12  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

birth- day.  The  last  two  years  had  been  devoted  to  the 
study  of  geometry,  trigonometry,  and  surveying.  During 
the  last  summer  he  was  at  school,  he  surveyed  the  fields  and 
plantations  around  the  school-house,  and,  with  great  skill 
and  precision,  entered  the  measurements  and  calculations 
in  his  books.  He  seems  to  have  possessed  a  natural  bent 
for  the  exact  sciences. 

While  George  was  at  school,  his  eldest  brother,  Law- 
rence, seeing  his  military  inclination,  procured  a  midship- 
man's  warrant'  for  him.  George  prepared  with  a  buoyant 
spirit,  to  enter  the  British  navy ;  but  the  earnest  persuasion 
of  his  mother  induced  him  to  abandon  the  project  and  con- 
tinue at  school.  How  much  depended  upon  his  decision  in 
this  matter  !  He  went  to  reside  with  his  brother  Lawrence, 
at  Mount  Vernon.  There  he  became,  acquainted  with  the 
Fairfax  family,  from  whom  he  obtained  his  first  regular 
employment  as  a  surveyor. 

The  eccentric  Lord  Fairfax  had  purchased  immense  tracts 
of  wild  lands  in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 
These  were  to  be  measured  and  divided  into  lots.  The  ser- 
vice was  difficult  and  dangerous.  The  country  swarmed 
with  Indians,  with  whom  peace  was  always  a  disagreeable 
truce,  and  the  hardships  of  a  wilderness  were  to  be  endured. 
Washington,  accompanied  by  George  Fairfax,  surmounted  all 
obstacles,  and  performed  the  service  required  with  skill  and 
accuracy.  His  reputation  as  a,  surveyor  was  established. 
The  knowledge  of  the  wilderness  and  its  inhabitants  which 
he  acquired  was  of  great  use  to  him  in  subsequent  surveying 
and  military  expeditions.  Receiving  a  commission  as 
public  surveyor,  he  was  engaged  almost  uninterruptedly 
in  the  business  of  that  office,  during  the  following  tare* 
years. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  13 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  entered  upon  the  military  se» 
vice.  The  frontiers  were  then  threatened  by  the  French 
and  Indians,  and  as  a  precautionary  measure  it  was  resolved 
to  put  the  militia  in  a  condition  for  defence.  The  province 
was  divided  into  districts,  in  each  of  which  was  placed  an 
adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of  major,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  muster,  and  maintain  discipline  among  the  militia.  Wash- 
ington received  charge  of  one  of  these  districts.  He  new 
studied  tactics,  and  entered  upon  this  congenial  service  with 
zeal  and  alacrity.  But  the  ill-health  of  his  brother  Law- 
rence, called  him  away  to  Barbadoes,  and  it  was  four  months 
before  he  returned  to  Virginia.  Lawrence  died  in  Bermuda, 
of  consumption.  George  was  left  executor,  and  his  time 
and  thoughts  were  occupied  for  several  months  with  the 
complicated  business  devolving  to  his  hands.  Yet  the  du 
ties  of  his  office  were  not  neglected.  Governor  Dinwiddie 
now  divided  Virginia  into  four  grand  military  departments, 
and  Washington,  much  to  his  gratification,  received  the 
command  in  the  northern  department.  This  was  a  post  of 
great  responsibility,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  conferred  upon 
BO  young  a  man  proves  that  the  governor  had  confidence  in 
his  talents  and  energy.  (1752.) 

But  new  scenes  of  service  more  important  in  the  eyes  of 
his  countrymen  were  about  to  open  before  Washington. 
Governor  Dinwiddie  received  information  that  the  French 
had  left  Canada,  in  force,  and  were  about  to  erect  forts  on  the 
Ohio,  while  the  Indians  were  assuming  a  hostile  front.  He  im- 
mediately resolved  to  send  a  commissioner  to  confer  with  the 
commander  of  the  French  forces,  to  inquire  by  what  right  he 
presumed  to  invade  the  dominions  of  the  King  of  England, 
and  what  were  his  designs.  Major  Washington  was  thougm 
to  be  best  qualified  for  this  delicate  and  dangerous  commis- 


14  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIIENT8. 

sion,  and  upon  him  the  governor  fixed.  The  major  was  then 
•  twenty-one  years  old. 

Having  received  written  instructions,  with  credentials 
and  a  passport,  Washington  departed  from  Williamsburg  on 
the  31st  of  October,  1753.  He  was  accompanied  by  Indian 
and  French  interpreters.  At  Will's  creek  he  found  Mr. 
Gist,  a  person  long  accustomed  to  the  wilderness,  who  was 
persuaded  to  join  the  party  as  a  guide.  Four  other  men 
were  added  as  attendants.  The  party  then  penetrated  into 
the  forests,  and  soon  left  the  civilized  region  far  behind. 
The  severity  of  the  season,  the  Alleghanies  covered  with 
snow,  and  the  valleys  'flooded  by  the  swelling  waters,  were 
obstacles  only  to  be  surmounted  slowly  and  with  great 
exertion. 

At  length,  the  company  reached  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio, 
where  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  rivers  unite.  Wash- 
ington perceived  the  military  advantages  of  this  place,  and 
it  was  by  his  advice  that  a  fortification  was  afterwards  be- 
gun there.  About  twenty  miles  below  the  Fork,  he  held  a 
conference  with  Half-king  and  other  Delaware  chiefs,  ex- 
plained the  objects  of  the  mission,  and  communicated  the 
wishes  of  the  governor.  After  some  delay,  four  Indians 
were  procured  as  an  escort,  and  the  party  set  forward  for 
the  station  of  the  French  commandant.  At  Venango,  the 
French  Captain  Joncaire,  used  various  stratagems  to  detain 
the  Indians.  But  Washington  outwitted  him.  At  the  fork 
on  French  creek,  fifteen  miles  south  of  Lake  Erie,  St.  Pierre, 
the  superior  officer  was  found.  Washington  performed  his 
mission.  The  answer  of  St.  Pierre  was  uncomplying  and 
determined.  He  had  been  ordered  to  take  post  on  the  Ohio, 
and  he  intended  to  do  his  duty.  With  an  answer  to  this 
effect,  Washington,  after  ascertaining  the  strength  jf  the  post, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  15 

set  out  upon  his  return.  The  hardships  and  dangers  of  thi. 
journey  homeward  were  much  greater  and  more  trying  than 
than  those  of  the  outward  expedition.  The  fortitude  of 
Washington  was  severely  tested.  During  part  of  the  travel! 
upon  land,  through  the  snow,  he  was  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Gist,  alcne.  On  several  occasions,  their  lives  were  en- 
dangered by  exposure  and  fatigue.  They  arrived  at  Wil- 
liamsburg  on  the  26th  of  January,  having  been  absent  eleven 
weeks.* 

Governor  Dinwiddie  now  resolved  to  repel  French  en- 
croachments, by  force,  if  necessary.  Two  hundred  men 
were  collected  and  placed  under  the  command  of  the  gallant 
young  Washington,  who  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  Fork 
of  the  Ohio  and  there  erect  a  fort.  When  the  military 
force  was  reorganized  for  the  exigencies  of  the  moment. 
Colonel  Fry  was  appointed  commander-in-chief,  and  Wash- 
ington was  second  in  command,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Captain  Trent  was  sent  forward  with  one  company, 
to  commence  the  fort  at  the  Fork ;  but  Contracoeur,  with  a 
large  force  of  French  and  Indians,  came  down  the  Alle- 
ghany  and  compelled  the  working  party  to  capitulate.  The 
French  then  completed  the  fortification  and  called  it  Fort 
Duquesne. 

As  soon  as  news  of  this  disaster  reached  Washington  at 
Alexandria,  he  sent  expresses  to  the  different  governors 
calling  for  reinforcements,  and  then  set  forward  boldly,  with 
the  intention  of  erecting  a  fort  on  the  Monongahela,  at  the 
mouth  of  Redstone  creek.  But  he  soon  received  information 
that  the  French  were  advancing  against  nim  with  superior 
numbers,  and  he  therefore  hastened  to  a  place  called  the 
Great  Meadows,  and  threw  up  some  defences.  Mr.  Gist 

*  Spark*. 


16  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

brought  intelligence  that  a  small  party  of  French  were  within 
five  miles  of  the  Great  Meadows,  and  Washington  resolved  to 
attempt  their  capture.  He  put  himself  at  the  head  of  forty 
men,  marched  all  night  to  reach  an  Indian  village,  and  then 
soncerted  measures  with  the  Delaware  chief,  Tanacharison. 
The  French  were  surprised,  Jumonville,  the  commander, 
and  ten  of  his  men,  killed,  and  twenty-two  made  prisoners. 
Washington  then  returned  to  Great  Meadows,  (March  28th. 
1754.) 

Colonel  Fry  died,  while  on  his  way  to  join  the  little  army. 
Colonel  Innes  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  while  Washing 
ton  received  command  of  all  the  Virginia  troops  who  were 
called  to  the  field.  Forseeing  that  the  French  would 
ittempt  to  revenge  the  capture  of  Jumonville's  party,  Wash- 
ington erected  palisades  at  the  encampment  in  the  Great 
Meadows,  and  called  the  rude  works  Fort  Necessity. 

His  force  numbered  four  hundred  men.  The  friendly 
Delawares  acted  as  spies  and  scouts.  But  now  some  diffi- 
eulty  occurred  between  Captain  Mackay,  who  held  a  royal 
commission,  and  the  Virginia  Colonel.  Mackay  maintained 
his  independent  command.  To  put  an  end  to  the  battle, 
Washington  left  the  captain  and  his  company  at  the  fort, 
and  marched  over  a  rough  and  most  arduous  road  to  Uist'a 
plantation.  The  news  arrived  that  the  French  were  ad- 
vancing in  great  force.  Mackay  came  to  the  aid  of  Wash- 
ington, but  a  council  decided  that  a  retreat  was  necessary. 
The  whole  body  fell  back  to  the  Great  Meadows,  where 
Washington  determined  to  make  a  stand.  The  men  were 
iiligently  employed  in  strengthening  the  defences  with  all 
the  means  at  command. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  July,  the  French  approached 
within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  and  began  an  inffectual 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  17 

fire,  which  was  given  and  returned  until  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  when  a  parley  was  demanded  by  De  Villers,  the 
French  commander.  The  result  was  the  capitulation  of  the 
garrison  on  honorable  terms ;  they  being  allowed  to  return 
unmolested  to  the  English  settlements,  and  to  retain  their 
arms  and  baggage.  Washington  agreed  to  restore  the  pri- 
soners of  Jumonville's  party,  and  not  to  builcP  any  more 
establishments  beyond  the  mountains  for  the  space  of  a  year. 
The  Indians,  notwithstanding  the  terms  of  the  capitulation, 
attacked  the  English  soon  after  they  commenced  their  re- 
treat. They  were  kept  at  bay,  though  they  succeeded  in 
pilfering  the  baggage.  The  exact  number  of  men  engaged 
in  the  action  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but  the  French  were 
twice  as  numerous,  at  least,  as  the  English.  Washington's 
loss  was  twelve  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded.  The  con- 
duct of  the  commander  and  his  troops  was  highly  approved 
by  the  governor,  the  council,  and  the  public. 

In  spite  of  Washington's  agreement  not  to  erect  another 
establishment  beyond  the  mountains,  Governor  Dinwiddie 
resolved  that  another  fort  should  be  built,  and  that  an  ex- 
pedition should  be  set  on  foot  against  Fort  Duquesne.  Wash- 
ington remonstrated,  and  showed  that  both  troops  and  sup- 
plies were  wanting,  and  that  the  season  would  place  almost 
insurmountable  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  enterprize. 
The  assembly  refused  to  grant  the  necessary  funds,  until 
the  year  was  too  far  advanced  to  attempt  hostile  operations. 
A  new  organization  of  the  army  was  now  made,  by  which 
Washington  was  reduced  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  many 
'  who  had  been  his  subordinates,  placed  above  him.  This 
his  high  spirit  could  not  bear ;  he  resigned  his  commission 
and  retired  from  the  army. 

In  March,  1755,  General  Braddock,  with  two  regiments 


18  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

of  regular  troops,  from  Great  Britain,  landed  in  VirgiDta. 
It  was  expected  that  the  campaign  would  be  decisive.  One 
of  the  general's  first  acts  was  to  invite  Colonel  Washington 
to  act  as  his  aid,  retaining  his  former  rank.  The  troops 
were  concentrated  at  Will's  creek.  There  Braddock  was 
thrown  into  paroxysms  of  ill  humor  by  the  delays  of  the 
province  oft  Pennsylvania  in  furnishing  him  with  the  means 
of  transportation.  The  zeal  and  activity  of  Dr.  Franklin 
at  length  remedied  the  want.  The  forces  were  set  in  mo- 
tion. But  the  difficulties  of  the  road  were  great,  and  their 
progress  was  slow.  Washington  advised  the  general  to 
divide  his  army  and  hurry  forward  with  one  division  against 
Fort  Duquesne,  before  the  garrison  could  be  reinforced. 
This  advice  was  adopted ;  but  Braddock  refused  the  services 
of  the  scouts  and  spies,  whom  the  colonel,  accustomed  to 
wilderness  warfare,  recommended. 

General  Braddock  led  the  advanced  division  of  twelve 
hundred  men,  lightly  equipped.  Colonel  Dunbar,  with  six 
hundred  men  remained  in  the  rear.  Sickness  detained 
Washington  nearly  two  weeks.  But  he  at  length  recovered, 
and,  pushing  forward,  he  overtook  the  general,  fifteen  miles 
from  Fort  Duquesne,  the  evening  before  the  battle  of  Mo- 
nongahela.*  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  biography  to 
give  a  detailed  account  of  this  memorable  disaster  of  the 
9th  of  July,  1755.  Upon  crossing  the  Monongahela,  about 
ten  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne,  Braddock  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade of  about  nine  hundred  French  and  Indians,  commanded 
by  Captain  Beaujeu  and  Dumas.  Instead  of  adopting  tactics 
suited  to  Indian  warfare,  the  general  compelled  his  troopa  . 
to  remain  together :  and  they  were  shot  down  by  hundreds. 
At  length,  Braddock  fell,  mortally  wounded,  it  is  said  by 

*  Sparks. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  19 

one  of  his  own  men,  who  believed  the  safety  of  the  remainder 
of  the  army  would  be  secured  by  the  death  of  the  obstinate 
commander.*  Washington  was  the  only  officer  who  remained 
unhurt,  and  even  he  had  two  horses  shot  under  him,  and 
received  four  bullets  in  his  coat.  With  great  coolness  and 
prudence,  he  rallied  the  Virginians,  and  protected  the  retreat 
of  the  terror-stricken  regulars.  The  enemy  pursued  but  a 
short  distance  and  then  retreated  to  collect  the  spoils.  The 
killed  and  wounded  on  the  side  of  the  English  amounted  to 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven  men,  of  whom  sixty-three 
were  officers.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  trifling.  Brad- 
dock  died  upon  the  fourth  day  after  the  defeat,  and  was 
buried  in  the  road.  Up  to  that  time,  Washington  and  Dun- 
bar  had  preserved  some  degree  of  order  in  the  army ;  but 
/hen,  the  troops  were  seized  with  a  panic,  and  discipline  was 
set  at  defiance  until  the  straggling  companies  reached  Fort 
Cumberland.  Here  Washington  remained  a  few  days  to 
regain  some  strength,  and  then,  being  no  longer  connected 
with  the  service,  he  retired  to  Mount  Vernon.  While 
the  country  staggered  under  a  dreadful  blow,  and  censure 
was  heaped  upon  Braddock,  the  fame  of  the  Virginia  colonel 
was  rendered  brighter.  From  all  sides  came  praises  of  his 
intrepidity,  foresight,  and  prudence.  The  Rev.  Samuel 
Davies  only  echoed  the  general  voice,  when  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  Washington  was  reserved  for  some  great  and 
patriotic  service. 

The  colonel  was  not  allowed  to  rest.  When  the  army 
was  newly  organized,  he  was  appointed  commander-in-chief. 
This  responsible  office  he  accepted  upon  the  conditions  that 
he  should  have  a  voice  in  choosing  his  own  officers,  and  thai 
there  should  be  a  thorough  refonn  in  the  military  regula 
*  Perkins-  -Annals  of  the  West. 


20  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tions.  His  energy  and  circumspection  wer*  now  more  vi- 
gorously exercised.  Every  thing  within  the  scope  of  hh 
command,  he  took  care  to  be  perfectly  acquainted  with. 
His  head-quarters  were  at  Winchester.  Suddenly,  the  In- 
dians commenced  their  depredations  upon  the  frontier. 
Washington  ordered  out  a  strong  force,  but  such  was  the 
insubordination  of  officers  and  men,  and  the  defective  cha 
racter  of  the  militia  organization,  that  but  little  could  be 
effected  for  the  relief  of  the  frontier.  The  situation  of 
Washington  was  trying  to  his  sensibilities.  The  inhabitants 
were  crying  for  aid,  and  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  give  it. 
He  exerted  himself  to  obtain  a  system  of  discipline  for  his 
forces,  and  at  length,  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  a  bill 
passed  by  the  assembly,  which  gave  him  authority  to  punish 
mutiny  and  disobedience.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season  for 
a  campaign.  Washington  busied  himself  in  strengthening 
the  frontier  posts  and  collecting  supplies,  and  soon  had  a 
much  more  efficient  force  at  command  than  ever  before. 

A  difficulty  occurring  with  Captain  Dagworthy,  who  held 
a  royal  commission  and  refused  obedience  to  any  provincial 
officer,  compelled  the  commander  to  appeal  to  General  Shir- 
ley, general-in-chief  of  all  the  English  forces  in  America. 
In  February,  1756,  he  started  for  Boston,  and  travelled  the 
whole  distance,  five  hundred  miles,  on  horseback.  General 
Shirley  received  Washington  politely,  and  accorded  him 
his  full  demands.  Dagworthy  was  ordered  to  act  under  the 
Virginia  colonel,  who  now  returned  to  mature  a  plan  for  the 
campaign. 

All  ideas  of  offensive  movements  were  vain.  The  means 
of  transportation  and  even  the  artillery  were  wanting.  The 
protection  of  the  frontier  was  the  most  that  seemed  feasible 
The  assembly  determined  to  increase  the  army  to  fifteen 


OBORGB  \»  A.6HINGTON.  21 

hundred  men.  But  while  the  business  of  recruiting  was 
going  on,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  drenched 
with  blood.  Washington  was  unable  to  relieve  the  distresses 
of  the  people.  Yet  he  was  accused  of  negligence  and  want 
of  military  talent.  Somewhat  irritated,  he  intimated  that 
he  wished  to  retire  from  his  responsible  station,  But  the 
soothing  letter  of  influential  friends,  and  the  general  ap- 
proval of  the  people,  induced  him  to  abandon  the  idea.  The 
duties  of  the  campaign  were  arduous,  though  opportunities 
of  acquiring  glory  were  presented.  The  incursions  of  the 
savages  were  unceasing  and  terrible.  During  the  summer 
and  autumn,  many  skirmishes  occurred.  Old  forts  were 
repaired  and  new  ones  built.  Washington  made  the  tour 
of  the  whole  frontier,  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  and  sup- 
plying the  garrison,  and  was  consequently  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Indians.  Constant  trouble,  concerning  the 
reinforcements  and  supplies,  which  were  delayed,  rendered 
the  commander's  station  any  thing  but  agreeable.  Few 
military  men  could  have  had  the  patience  to  bear  the  vexa- 
tions endured  by  Washington.  On  several  occasions,  he 
recommended  offensive  expeditions,  which  promised  success, 
but  was  never  permitted  to  gratify  his  noble  ambition,  in 
the  prosecution  of  them.  In  the  latter  part  of  1757,  fatigue 
and  exposure  had  so  undermined  his  strength,  that  his  phy- 
sician advised  him  to  retire  from  the  army.  He  went  tc 
Mount  Vernon,  where  he  fell  ill  of  a  fever,  and  was  reduced 
very  low.  It  was  four  months  before  he  was  able  to  resume 
his  command.  (March  1st,  1758.) 

The  accession  of  the  energetic  William  Pitt  to  the  head 
of  the  administration  in  England  led  to  a  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war  in  America.  It  was  determined  te 
Bet  on  foot  an  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne,  and  Ge 


22  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

neral  Forbes  was  appointed  to  take  the  command,  liie 
colonies  furnished  the  supplies  with  alacrity,  and  harmony 
was  again  secured  between  the  British  and  the  provincial 
officers  by  placing  them  upon  the  same  footing.  Two  regi- 
ments were  raised  in  Virginia,  Washington  still  holding  the 
chief  command.  Colonel  Byrd  was  to  head  the  second  regi- 
msnt.  General  Forbes  was  detained  at  Philadelphia  and 
Colonel  Bouquet  was  ordered  to  take  post  in  the  central 
parts  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  provincials  were  to  join 
him.  Washington  was  very  active  in  enlisting  men  und 
collecting  supplies.  In  July,  he  led  the  Virginia  regiments 
to  Fort  Cumberland.  He  was  eager  to  advance  against 
Fort  Duquesne  at  an  early  day  and  by  Braddock's  route. 
But  General  Forbes  resolved,  in  spite  of  Washington's  for- 
cible arguments,  to  cut  a  new  road.  It  was  November,  there- 
fore, before  the  main  body  of  the  army  reached  Loyal  Hanna. 
Washington  requested  and  received  the  command  of  the  ad- 
vanced division  of  one  thousand  men,  upon  whom  the  chief 
labor  and  duty  devolved.  No  material  event,  besides  the 
defeat  of  Major  Grant's  reconnoitering  party  occurred,  until 
the  25th  of  November,  when  General  Forbes  took  possession 
of  the  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  French  having  aban- 
doned and  set  fire  to  it,  the  day  before,  and  gone  down  the 
river  in  boats.  The  fort  was  repaired,  and  named  Fort  Pitt. 
A  portion  of  the  Virginians  were  left  for  a  garrison,  and 
the  rest  of  the  party  returned. 

Washington  now  determined  to  retire  from  the  army. 
There  was  no  prospect  of  his  rising  much  higher  in  the  mi- 
litary line,  and  the  province  was  in  a  great  measure  relieved 
from  Indian  depredations.  In  December,  he  resigned  his 
commission.  On  this  occasion,  the  officers  who  had  served 
under  him  sent  him  an  address,  expressive  of  th*nr  high  es- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  23 

timatioL  of  him  as  a  commander,  and  as  a  man — a  testimo- 
nial mo«t  gratifying  to  his  feelings.  Throughout  his  ser- 
vice of  five  years,  he  had  displayed  integrity,  energy,  and 
judgment,  and  this  was  now  generally  acknowledged.  The 
events  of  this  period  of  service  were  of  a  nature  to  give 
Washington  confidence  in  his  own  resources,  and  he  certainly 
acquired  a  fund  of  experience,  which  was  of  the  greatest  use 
co  him  in  his  subsequent  high  positions. 

The  susceptibility  of  Washington  in  matters  of  affection 
for  the  female  sex  had  been  evinced  on  several  occasions. 
He  is  said  to  have  had  a  "flame,"  whom  he  designated  as 
a  "Lowland  beauty,"  when  he  was  only  seventeen.  In  the 
course  of  the  year  1758,  he  paid  his  addresses  to  Mrs.  Martha 
Custis,  widow  of  John  Parke  Custis,  and  distinguished  alike 
for  beauty,  accomplishments,  and  wealth.  He  was  married 
to  this  lady  on  the  6th  of  January,  1759.  The  union  was 
destined  to  be  long  and  felicituous.  To  the  son  and  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Washington,  the  new  husband  acted  the  part  of  a 
faithful  and  affectionate  father.  The  vast  additions  made 
to  his  estates  furnished  new  employment  for  Washington's 
active  mind ;  and  then  he  was  elected,  without  effort  or 
solicitation  on  his  part,  to  represent  Frederick  county  in  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses — so  that  the  public  was  not 
long  without  his  services. 

Upon  his  first  attendance  at  the  house,  Mr.  Robinson 
moved  that  the  thanks  of  that  body  be  tendereu  to  Colonel 
Washington  for  the  important  services  he  had  render  to  his 
country,  and  enforced  his  motion  in  a  glowing  speech. 
Washington  arose  to  express  his  acknowledgements  for  the' 
honor,  but  such  was  his  confusion  that  he  could  not  give  ut- 
terance to  a  single  syllable.  The  speaker  came  to  his  relief — 
"Sit  dcwn,"  said  he,  with  a  conciliating  smile,  "your  mo 


24  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

desty  equals  your  valor ;  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of 
any  language  that  I  possess." 

From  this  time  until  the  revolution,  a  period  of  fifteen 
years,  Washington  was  constantly  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  first  representing  Frederick  county,  and  then 
Fairfax,  his  residence  of  Mount  Vernon  being  in  the  latter. 
He  was  punctual  in  his  attendance,  and  though  he  never 
made  a  set  speech,  was  remarkable  for  astonishing  accuracy 
of  judgment,  and  was  ever  influential.  The  great  Patrick 
Henry  had  a  lofty  estimation  of  his  ability,*  and  repeatedly 
spoke  of  him  with  admiration.  At  the  same  time  Washing- 
ton maintained  the  character  of  a  country  gentleman,  and 
Mount  Vernon  was  the  centre  of  a  highly  cultivated  circle 
of  friends. 

When  the  oppressive  measures  of  the  British  Parliament 
excited  the  spirit  of  resistance  in  the  people  of  the  provinces, 
Washington  was  not  indifferent.  He  was  of  opinion  that 
the  British  ministry  was  pursuing  a  regular  plan  at  the  ex* 
pense  of  law  and  justice,  and  thought  that  such  a  plan 
should  be  resisted.  He  presided  at  a  meeting  held  in  Fairfax 
county,  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted,  expressive  of  the 
the  sense  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  denunciation  of  the  vio- 
lations of  the  rights  of  British  subjects.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Williamsburg  Convention,  which  adopted  some  bold 
resolutions,  and  appointed  seven  deputies,  of  whom  he  was 
one,  to  the  general  Congress,  to  meet  in  Philadelphia,  on 
the  5th  of  September,  1774. 

An  anecdote  is  told  by  Mr.  Wirt,  which  shows  in  what 
estimation  Washington  was  held  by  the  members  of  the  first 
Congress.  Soon  after  Patrick  Henry  returned  home,  being 
asked,  "whom  he  thought  the  greatest  man  in  Congress.  ' 

*  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  25 

he  replied,  "  If  you  speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rutledge,  of 
South  Carolina,  is  by  far  the  greatest  orator ;  but  if  you 
speak  of  solid  information  and  sound  judgment,  Colonel 
Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  that 
floor." 

On  returning  home,  Washington,  at  the  request  of  some 
of  the  volunteer  companies,  acted  as  field  officer,  and  re- 
viewed and  instructed  them.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  to 
the  Virginia  Convention  of  March,  1775,  in  which  Patrick 
Henry  sounded  the  trumpet  of  the  revolution,  and  was 
chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  second  Congress,  which  met  in  Phi- 
ladelphia on  the  10th  of  May,  1775.  It  was  a  great  object 
of  this  Congress  to  gain  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  mili- 
tary resources  of  the  colonies,  and  committees  were  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose.  Of  all  these  important  commit- 
tees, Washington  was  chairman.  The  first  blood  was  shed 
at  Lexington,  and  it  became  necessary  to  immediately  or- 
ganize the  army,  and  elect  a  commander-in-chief.  It  was 
thought  by  some  that  the  latter  would  prove  a  difficult  task. 
But  when  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  suggested  the 
name  of  Washington,  general  satisfaction  was  expressed ; 
and  on  the  15th  of  June,  he  was  unanimously  chosen  to  that 
responsible  station.  The  appointment  was  communicated 
to  him  the  next  morning,  by  the  President.  He  arose  in 
his  place  and  signified  his  acceptance  in  a  reply  which  con- 
tained expressions  of  the  self-distrust  of  modest  merit.  He 
declared  that  he  would  accept  of  no  compensation  beyond 
the  expenses  of  his  office.  Four  days  afterwards  he  received 
his  commission,  and  Congress  unanimously  resolved  to 
maintain,  assist,  and  adhere  to  him,  with  their  lives  and 
fortunes,  in  the  same  cause. 

A  rough,  undisciplined,  and  unprovided  army  had  col- 


26  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

lected  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  Washington's  pre- 
sence was  immediately  necessary.  But  in  spite  of  his  haste, 
he  did  not  arrive  at  Cambridge,  until  the  2d  of  July,  about 
two  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  He  was  every 
where  received  with  respect  and  enthusiasm.  He  bent  the 
whole  force  of  his  mind  to  overcome  the  great  difficulties 
with  which  he  wq.s  obliged  to  struggle,  in  consequence  of 
the  want  of  ammunition,  clothing,  and  magazines,  the  defi- 
ciency of  arms  and  discipline,  and  the  evils  of  short  enlist- 
ments. The  history  of  this  campaign  before  Boston  is  a 
history  of  successive  exertions  to  surmount  almost  insuper- 
able obstacles,  by  one  who  was  solicitous,  in  the  extreme,  to 
perform  some  great  and  useful  achievement,  in  order  to 
prove  himself  worthy  of  his  high  station. 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  Congress,  at  this  period,  he  says, 
"  I  cannot  help  acknowledging  that  I  have  many  disagreeable 
sensations  on  account  of  my  situation ;  for  to  have  the  eyes 
of  the  whole  continent  fixed  upon  me,  with  anxious  expec- 
tation of  hearing  of  some  great  event,  and  to  be  restrained 
in  every  military  operation,  for  want  of  the  necessary  means 
to  carry  it  on,  is  not  very  pleasing,  especially  as  the  means 
used  to  conceal  my  weakness  from  the  enemy,  conceal  it  also 
from  our  friends,  and  add  to  their  wonder."  This  was 
written  in  February,  after  a  council  of  war  had  expressed 
an  opinion,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  want  of  ammunition  for 
the  artillery,  against  the  execution  of  a  bold  plan  which  he 
had  formed  of  crossing  the  ice,  and  attacking  General  Howe, 
in  Boston.  He  then  took  possession  of  the  heights  of  Dor- 
chester, in  the  persuasion  that  a  general  action  would  ensue, 
as  the  position  enabled  him  to  annoy  the  ships  in  the  harbor 
and  the  soldiers  in  the  town.  The  British  general,  in  conse- 
quence, was  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  either  dislodging 


GBORGE  WASHINGTON.  27 

the  Americans  or  evacuating  the  place,  and  endeavored  to 
accomplish  the  former ;  but  the  troops  which  were  embarked 
for  the  purpose,  were  scattered  by  a  furious  storm,  and  dis- 
abled from  immediately  prosecuting  the  enterprise.     Before 
they  could  be  again  in  readiness  for  the  attack,  the  Ameri- 
can works  were  made  so  strong,  that  an  attempt  upon  them 
was  thought  unadvisable ;  and  the  evacuation  could  no  longer 
be  delayed.     It  took  place  on  the  17th  of  March,  and  gave 
great  joy  to  the  United  Colonies.     Congress  passed  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  the  general  and  his  army,  "  for  their  wise  and 
spirited  conduct  in  the  siege  and  acquisition  of  Boston,"  and 
directed  a  medal  of  gold  to  be  struck  in  commemoration  of 
the  event.     As  soon  as  the  British  fleet  had  put  to  sea,  the 
American  army  proceeded,  by  divisions,  to  New  York,  where 
it  arrived  on  the  14th  of  April.     Every  effort  was  made  by 
Washington  to  fortify  the  city,  before  the  appearance  of  the 
enemy.     In  the  beginning  of  July,  the  British  troops  were 
landed  on  Staten  Island,  and  some  efforts  were  made  by  Lord 
Howe,  who  commanded  the  fleet,  to  open  negotiations  for 
the  restoration  ofpeace  ;  but  they  failed,  in  consequence  of 
the  refusal  of  the  American  commander  to  receive  any  com- 
munication not  addressed  to  him  in  such  a  way  as  to  ac- 
knowledge his  public  character.     The  English  commandei 
had  directed  his  letters  to  "  George  Washington,  Esquire," 
and  then  to  "  George  Washington,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,"  but  de- 
clined an  unequivocal  recognition  of  his  station.     The  dis- 
astrous affair  of  Long  Island  soon  afterwards  occurred,  on 
the  27th  of  August,  in  which  Washington  was  obliged  to 
behold  the  carnage  of  his  troops  without  being  able  to  assist 
them.     It  constrained  him  to  withdraw  his  forces  entirely 
from  the  island,  which  he  accomplished  on  the  night  of  the 
28th  with  such  secrecy,  that  all   the  troops  and  military 


28  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

stores,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  provisions,  and  all  the 
artillery,  except  such  heavy  pieces  as  could  not  be  drawn 
through  the  roads,  rendered  almost  impassable  by  rains, 
were  carried  over  in  safety.  From  the  commencement  oi 
the  action,  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  until  the  American 
forces  had  passed  the  East  river,  on  the  morning  of  the  29th, 
his  exertions  and  fatigues  were  unremitted.  Throughout 
that  time,  he  was  almost  constantly  on  horseback,  and  never 
closed  his  eyes.  The  manner  in  which  this  operation  was 
performed,  greatly  enhanced  his  military  reputation ;  and  it 
may  justly  be  ranked  among  those  skilful  maneuvers  which 
distinguish  a  master  in  the  art  of  war.  No  ordinary  talents, 
certainly,  are.  requisite  to  withdraw,  without  loss,  a  defeated, 
dispirited,  and  undisciplined  army  from  the  view  of  an  expe- 
riened  and  able  enemy,  and  to  transport  them  in  safety  across 
a  large  river,  while  watched  by  a  numerous  and  vigilant  fleet. 
In  consequence  of  the  operations  of  the  British  general,  it 
soon  became  indispensable  to  evacuate  New  York.  This  was 
done  on  the  15th  of  September,  with  an  inconsiderable  loss 
of  men.  The  strongest  point  of  the  position  which  Wash- 
ington then  took,  was  at  Kingsbridge ;  but  it  was  soon  after- 
wards deemed  necessary  to  withdraw  altogether  from  York 
island,  and  the  army  moved  towards  White  Plains.  General 
Howe  followed,  and  the  battle  of  White  Plains  ensued,  in 
which  a  portion  of  the  American  forces,  occupying  a  hill  on 
the  right  of  the  army,  under  the  command  of  General  Mc- 
Dougal,  were  driven  from  their  station  after  an  animated 
engagement.  Washington  then  changed  his  position  for 
another,  and  Howe,  considering  this  too  strong  to  be  at- 
tempted with  prudence,  retired  down  the  North  river,  for 
the  purpose  of  investing  Fort  Washington,  on  York  island, 
It  was  taken,  and  its  garrison  made  prisoners  of  war ;  on 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  29 

which  the  American  general  retreated  into  New  Jersey.  Hia 
situation  was  now  gloomy  in  the  extreme.  All  his  efforts  to 
raise  the  militia  had  been  ineffectual ;  and  no  confidence 
could  be  entertained  of  receiving  reinforcements  from  any 
quarter.  But  that  unyielding  firmness,  which  constituted 
one  of  the  most  valuable  and  prominent  traits  of  his  cha- 
racter, enabled  him  to  bear  up  against  every  difficulty. 

"  Undismayed,"  says  Marshall,  "  by  the  dangers  which 
surrounded  him,  he  did  not,  for  an  instant,  relax  his  exer- 
tions, nor  omit  any  thing  which  could  obstruct  the  progress 
of  the  enemy,  or  improve  his  own  condition.  He  did  not 
appear  to  despair  of  the  public  safety,  but  struggled  against, 
adverse  fortune,  with  the  hope  of  yet  vanquishing  the  diffi- 
culties which  surrounded  him,  and  constantly  showed  him- 
self to  his  harassed  and  enfeebled  army,  with  a  serene  and 
unembarrassed  countenance,  betraying  no  fear  in  himself, 
and  invigorating  and  inspiring  with  confidence  the  bosoma 
of  others.  To  this  unconquerable  firmness,  to  this  perfect 
self-possession,  under  the  most  desperate  circumstances,  is 
America,  in  a  great  degree,  indebted  for  her  independence.' 

In  his  retreat  through  New  Jersey,  Washington  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  British  army,  flushed  with  victory,  highly  dis- 
ciplined, and  perfectly  equipped,  whilst  his  own  troops  were 
dispirited,  destitute,  and  daily  decreasing  by  the  expiration 
of  their  terms  of  service.  In  December,  the  British  general 
made  an  attempt  to  get  possession  of  a  number  of  boats  for 
the  transportation  of  his  forces  over  the  Delaware ;  but. 
having  failed,  he  went  into  quarters.  Washington,  having, 
about  the  same  time,  been  joined  by  some  effective  rein- 
forcements, meditated  a  blow  on  the  enemy  while  distributed 
in  tbeir  cantonments,  which  mi^ht  retrieve,  in  a  measure, 
the  disastrous  posture  01  American  affairs,  relieve  Philadel- 


30  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

phia  from  immediate  danger,  and  rouse  the  drooping  spirits 
of  his  countrymen.  He  accordingly  formed  the  plan  of  at- 
tacking all  the  British  posts  on  the  Delaware  at  the  same 
instant ;  but  only  that  part  of  it  succeeded  which  was  con- 
ducted by  him  in  person.  It  is  unnecessary  to  give  the 
particulars  of  the  successes  at  Trenton  and  Princeton.  Be- 
sides the  immediate  advantages  accruing  from  them  in  sav- 
ing Philadelphia,  and  recovering  New  Jersey,  the  moral 
effects  which  they  produced  in  reanimating  the  spirit  of  the 
people,  were  incalculable.  Confidence  in  the  commander-m- 
chief  became  universal.  Immediately  afterwards,  congress 
declared,  that,  in  the  then  state  of  things,  the  very  existence 
of  civil  liberty  depended  on  the  right  execution  of  military 
powers,  to  a  vigorous  direction  of  which,  distant,  numerous 
and  deliberative  bodies  were  unequal,  and  authorized  Gene- 
ral Washington  to  raise  sixteen  additional  regiments,  con- 
ferring upon  him,  at  the  same  time,  for  six  months,  dictato- 
rial power,  for  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

In  the  beginning  of  1777,  Washington  caused  all  his  sol- 
diers to  be  inoculated,  as  the  small-pox  had  proved  more 
fatal  in  his  camp  than  the  sword  of  the  enemy.  During  thi.<- 
winter,  while  the  two  armies  were  in  their  respective  quar- 
ters, he  used  every  exertion  to  raise  a  powerful  force  for  the 
coming  campaign ;  but  his  efforts  were  not  attended  with 
corresponding  success.  Not  allowing  himself  to  be  dispirited, 
he  endeavored  to  make  the  most  of  the  means  in  his  hands, 
which,  however,  so  far  from  enabling  him  to  carry  into  effect 
the  offensive  operations  he  had  meditated,  were  unequal 
even  to  defensive  war. 

In  July,  General  Howe  embarked  his  forces;  and,  it 
having  been  ascertained  that  the  destination  of  the  fleet  was 
against  Philadelphia,  Washington  moved  southward  to  th< 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  31 

Delaware.     On  the  25th  of  August,  the  British  disembarked 
a.t  the  ferry  of  Elk  river,  and  on  the  10th  of  September,  the 
battle  of  Brandywine  was  fought,  in  which  the  Americans 
were  defeated.     It  opened  the  way  to  Philadelphia  for  the 
.  enemy ;  and,  on  the  twenty-sixth  they  entered  the  city, 
though  not  before  Washington  had  made  an  effort  to  engage 
them  again  on  the  sixteenth,  which  was  frustrated  by  a  vio- 
lent rain,  that  rendered  the  fire«-arms  of  the  Americans  unfit 
for  use,  and  obliged  them  to  retreat,  without  any  thing  more 
than  a  skirmish  between  the  advanced  parties.     "From  the 
25th  of  August,"  says  Marshall,  "when  the  British  army 
landed  at  the  head  of  Elk,  until  the  26th  of  September, 
when  it  entered  Philadelphia,  the  campaign  had  been  active, 
and  the  duties  of  the  American  general  uncommonly  arduous. 
The  best   English  writers  bestow  high  encomiums  on   Sir 
William  Howe  for  his  military  skill  and  masterly  movements 
during  this  period.     At  Brandywine,  especially,  Washing- 
ton is  supposed  to  have  been  '  outgeneralled,  more  outge- 
ueralled  than  in  any  action  of  the  war.'     If  all  the  opera- 
tions of  this  trying  period  be  examined,  and  the  means  in 
possession  of  both  be  considered,  the  American  chief  will 
appear  in  no  respect  inferior  to  his  adversary.     With  an 
army  decidedly  inferior,  not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  every 
military  requisite,  except  courage,  in  an  open  country,  he 
employed  his  enemy  nearly  thirty  days  in  advancing  about 
sixty  miles.     In  this  time,  he  fought  one  general  action, 
and,  though  defeated,  was  able  to  reassemble  the  same  un- 
disciplined, unclothed,  and  almost  unfed,  army,  and  the  fifth 
day  afterwards,  again  to  offer  battle.     When  the  armies 
were  separated  by  a  storm,  which  involved  him  in  the  most 
distressing  circumstances,  he  extricated  himself  from  them, 
and  still  maintained  a  respectable  and  imposing  countenance. 


32  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

The  only  advantage  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  given  was 
at  the  battle,  of  Brandy  wine ;  and  that  was  produced  by  the 
contrariety  and  uncertainty  of  the  intelligence  received.  In 
a  new  army, where  military  talent  has  not  been  well  tried, 
the*  general  is  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  chance  of  employing 
not  the  best  instruments.  In  a  country,  too,  which  is  covered 
with  wood,  precise  information  of  the  numbers  composing 
different  columns  is  to  be  gained  with  difficulty." 

After  the  occupation  of  Philadelphia,  the  British  general 
laving  divided  his  force,  so  as  to  give  Washington  a  fair 
opportunity  to  engage  him  with  advantage,  he  determined 
to  avail  himself  of  it  by  surprising  the  camp  which  had  been 
formed  at  Germantown,  and  attacking  both  wings,  in  front 
and  rear,  at  the  same  time.  He  made  all  his  arrangements 
with  his  wonted  caution  and  address ;  and,  on  the  4th  of 
October,  the  enterprise  was  carried  into  effect,  and,  for  u 
time,  seemed  certain  of  a  successful  issue ;  but  the  darkness 
of  the  morning,  produced  by  a  fog  of  uncommon  density, 
introducing  confusion  into  the  American  troops,  Washington 
was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  hopes,  and  to  direct  his  at- 
tention to  secure  the  retreat  of  his  men.  This  he  did  with- 
out loss. 

Decided  approbation  was  expressed  by  Congress,  both  of 
the  plan  of  this  enterprise,  and  of  the  courage  with  which  it 
was  executed ;  and  their  thanks  were  voted  to  the  general 
and  the  army.  Having  taken  all  possible  measures  to  cut 
off  the  enemy  from  supplies,  Washington  took  post  at  White 
marsh  where  an  attempt  to  surprise  him  was  made  by  Ge- 
neral Howe ;  but  it  was  disconcerted,  intelligence  having 
reached  him  of  the  intended  stroke.  He  then  distributed 
his  soldiers  in  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  where  their 
sufferings  were  excessive,  in  consequence  of  the  intense 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON.  33 

severity  of  the  season,  and  their  want  of  most  of  the  neces- 
saries for  comfort,  and  even  for  existence.  Every  effort 
was  made  by  him  to  improve  their  condition,  and  augment 
their  numbers ;  for  these  ends,  he  exercised,  though  with 
caution,  the  dictatorial  powers  intrusted  to  him  by  Con- 
gress. His  incessant  labors  and  unyielding  patriotism 
could  not, "however,  save  him  from  the  imputations  which 
wa,nt  of  success,  even  though  occasioned  by  insuperable 
obstacles,  always  engenders;  and  a  combination  was 
formed  to  deprive  him  of  his  command,  and  substitute 
in  his  place  the  victor  of  Saratoga,  General  Gates.  But 
to  weaken  his  hold  upon  the  confidence  and  affection  of 
the  great  body  of  the  people  and  the  army,  was  found 
impossible ;  and  even  the  troops  who  had  conquered 
under  Gates  received  the  idea  of  the  change  with  indig- 
nation. The  machinations  of  his  enemies  were  frustrated 
without  any  effort  on  his  part,  and  only  did  injury  to 
themselves.  They  made  no  undue  impression  on  his 
steady  mind,  nor  did  they  change  one  of  his  measures. 
His  sensibilities  were  for  his  country,  and  not  for  himself. 
In  June,  1778,  the  British  evacuated  Philadelphia,  whicb 
was  rendered  a  dangerous  position  for  them  by  the  part  i* 
was' now  evident  that  France  was  about  to  take  in  the  war; 
and  the  naval  force  which  had  been  prepared  by  that  powei 
before  she  declared  herself.  They  retreated  upon  New 
York,  through  New  Jersey,  followed  by  Washington,  who, 
in  opposition  to  the  opinion  of  a  council  of  general  officers, 
and  taking  his  measures  on  his  own  responsibility,  brought 
them  to  an  action  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  month,  at 
Monmouth,  which,  though  not  a  decided  victory,  was  yet 
favorabie  to  the  American  arms, and  productive  of  great  satis- 
faction to  Congress  and  the  country.  He  passed  the  night 
in  his  clean,  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  int  P din cr  to  renew 


34  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  engagevnent  on  the  following  morning ;  but,  before  the 
return  of  day,  the  enemy  had  marched  off  in  silence,  and 
effected  their  retreat  to  New  York.  Marshall  has  given  an 
extract  from  a  letter  of  Lafayette  to  him  respecting  thia 
battle,  in  which  he  says,  "Never  was  General  Washington 
greater  in  war  than  in  this  action  :  his  presence  stopped  the 
retreat,  his  dispositions  fixed  the  victory.  His  fine  appear- 
ance on  horseback,  his  calm  courage,  roused  by  the  anima- 
tion produced  by  the  vexation  of  the  morning,  (le  depit  de 
la  matinee,]  gave  him  the  air  best  calculated  to  excite 
enthusiasm." 

In  the  year  of  1779,  Congress  had  formed  the  plan  of  an 
invasion  of  Canada,  which  was  deemed  altogether  inexpe- 
dient by  Washington  ;  and,  in  Consequence,  he  requested  a 
personal  interview.  This  was  a«.  ^eded  to ;  and,  on  his  ar- 
rival in  Philadelphia,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  confer 
with  him  on  that  particular  subject,  and  on  the  general 
state  of  the  army  and  the  country.  The  result  of  their  con- 
ferences was,  that  the  expedition  against  Canada  was  aban- 
doned ;  and  every  arrangement  recommended  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  received  the  attention  to  which  all  his  opi- 
nions were  entitled.  From  this  period  to  the  siege  of  York- 
town,  no  incident  calling  for  particular  mention  occurred  in 
Washington's  career.  He  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of 
New  York,  watching  the  enemy,  and  taking  every  measure 
for  tho  welfare  of  the  country,  without  being  able  to  perform 
any  striking  exploit.  He  had  to  contend  with  difficulties 
the  mastering  of  which  required  higher  qualities  than  are 
necessary  to  gain  a  brilliant  victory.  His  soldiers  could 
scarcely  be  kept  from  perishing  with  cold  and  hunger,  or 
from  dispersing  and  living  on  plunder.  They  were  daily 
leaving  the  service :  some  regiments  niuf;nied ;  others  re- 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  35 

volted  and  marched  home;  and  he  could  obtain  no  compli- 
ance with  his  urgent  requisitions  for  recruits.  Nothing  could 
be  looser  and  more  precarious  than  the  thread  by  which  the 
the  army  was  kept  together ;  and,  in  any  other  hands  than 
his,  it  must  inevitably  have  been  broken.  But,  in  spite  of 
every  obstacle  and  disaster,  he  prevented  the  enemy  from 
accomplishing  any  thing  material,  and  adopted  such  prepa- 
ratory steps  as  might  enable  him  to  turn  to  advantage  any 
fortunate  incident  which  might  occur. 

In  1781,  he  planned,  in  conjunction  with  Count,  de  Ho- 
chambeau,  a  grand  enterprise  against  New  York ;  but  cir- 
cumstances concurred  to  indiK^  an  alteration  in  his  views, 
and  to  direct  them  to  operations  in  the  south.  He  conti- 
nued, however,  arrangements  for  the  attempt  on  the  city,  in 
order  to  deceive  Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  to  his  real  intentions, 
which  he  did  with  considerable  address.  In  August,  he 
began  his  movement;  and,  having  taken  measures  for  the 
transportation  of  his  army  down  the  Chesapeake,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Virginia  with  De  Rochambeau  and  Chevalier 
de  Chatelleux.  On  Sept.  14,  he  reached  Williamsburg, 
and  had  an  interview  with  Count  de  Grasse,  the  admiral 
of  the  French  fleet,  which  was  lying  in  the  bay  at  the 
time,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  a  plan  of  co-operation 
with  regard  to  the  investment  of  the  British,  at  York- 
town,  to  which  they  had  retired.  The  siege  commenced 
on  Sept.  28  ;  and,  on  Oct.  19,  after  severe  fighting,  Lord 
Cornwallis  was  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  surrendering 
the  posts  of  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  Point,  with  their 
garrisons,  and  the  ships  in  the  harbor,  with  their  seamen, 
to  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  America  and  France. 

The  capture  of  Cornwallis  was  generally  considered  the 
finishing  stroke  of  the  war ;  but  it  produced  no  disposition 


36  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

in  the  American  commander-in-chief  to  relax  in  those  exer 
tions  which  might  jet  be  necessary  to  secure  the  great  ob- 
ject of  the  contest.  He  hastened  to  Philadelphia  to  confer 
with  Congress  respecting  the  military  establishment  of  the 
succeeding  year.  He  addressed  a  circular  to  all  the  state 
sovereignties,  pressing  the  importance  of  supplies.  He  pro- 
mised and  made  all  possible  exertions  towaids  expelling  the 
British  from  New  York  and  Charleston.  He  felt  alarm, 
and  proclaimed  increased  danger,  lest  the  debates  in  the 
British  parliament  concerning  peace  should  beget  supine- 
ness  in  America.  During  the  winter  quarters,  when  the 
military  situation  of  affairs  in  general  would  have  allowed 
of  his  absence  from  camp,  he  remained  there,  in  order  to 
watch  and  allay  the  discontents  of  the  American  troops, 
who  supposed  themselves  ill-treated  by  Congress  and  the 
States. 

After  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed,  those  discontents, 
which  he  knew  at  least  to  be  plausible,  gave  him  much 
trouble  and  disquietude  He  added  to  his  reputation  by  the 
manner  in  which  he  noticed  and  counteracted  the  famous 
"  Newburgh  Letters,"  and  suppressed  the  mutiny  of  the  Phi- 
ladelphia line.  While,  however,  he  vindicated  discipline, 
and  enforced  subordination  to  the  civil  authorities,  he  deeply 
sympathized  with  the  suffering  troops,  and  used  every  lawful 
means  to  procure  redress  for  their  grievances. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1783,  peace  and  independence 
being  achieved,  the  British  forces  evacuated  New  York,  and 
Washington  made  his  public  entry  into  that  city,  attended 
by  a  splendid  volunteer  retinue.  On  the  4th  of  December, 
he  took  his  solemn  farewell  of  the  principal  officers  of  the 
American  army,  assembled  in  a  hotel  at  New  York.  On  the 
19th  of  that  month,  at  Annapolis,  where  congress  was  then 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  37 

in  session,  he  resigned,  in  form,  to  that  body,  the  commission 
which  he  had  so  long  and  gloriously  borne,  and  returned  to 
private  life,  which  he  so  much  loved.  After  peace  was  pro- 
claimed, Congress  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  for  the 
erection  of  an  equestrian  statue  of  their  general,  at  the  place 
which  should  be  established  for  the  seat  of  government.  The 
legislature  of  Virginia  also  decreed  to  him  "  a  statue  of 
the  finest  marble  and  best  workmanship,"  with  an  appropri- 
ate inscription.  It  was  placed  in  the  capitol  of  Virginia. 
Washington  took  great  interest  in  the  navigation  of  the  Vir- 
ginia rivers :  he  exerted  himself  to  procure  joint  legislative 
acts  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  for  the  improvement  of  the 
Potomac.  He  negotiated  with  the  latter  on  the  part  of  the 
former  state ;  and  the  legislature  of  Maryland,  anxious  to 
bear  some  testimony  to  his  worth,  unanimously  passed  a  bill 
authorizing  the  treasurer  to  subscribe,  "  for  the  benefit  of 
General  Washington,"  the  same  number  of  shares  in  each 
of  the  navigation  companies  to  be  formed  as  were  to  be  taken 
for  the  state.  Washington  was  embarrassed  by  this  gene- 
rous and  honorable  proceeding.  In  a  fine  letter  of  acknow- 
ledgement, he  declined  the  large  donation  for  himself,  but 
asked  it  for  some  objects  of  a  public  nature.  The  shares 
were  then  reserved  for  the  use  of  a  seminary  of  learning  es- 
tablished in  the  vicinity  of  James  and  Potomac  rivers.  In 
1787,  the  legislature  of  Virginia  unanimously  elected  him 
one  of  their  delegates  to  the  convention  to  be  held  at  Phila- 
delphia for  the  revisal  of  the  federal  system.  He  finally 
consented  to  serve,  making  a  painful  sacrifice  of  his  plans 
and  expectations  of  uninterrupted  retirement,  in  order  to 
assist  in  "averting  the  contemptible  figure  which  the  Ame- 
rican communities  were  about  to  make  in  the  annals  of  man- 
kind, with  their  separate,  independent,  jealous  state  sove 


38  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

reignties,"  The  convention,  when  assembled  at  Philadelphia, 
unanimously  chose  him  for  their  president ;  and  no  member 
in  that  august  body  more  decidedly  approved  the  constitu- 
tion which  they  gave  to  the  country.  All  America,  as  soon 
as  it  was  adopted,  looked  to  him  as  the  first  President  under 
it,  with  an  eye  of  affectionate  confidence  and  desire  which 
could  not  be  resisted.  His  reluctance  to  quit  his  retreat 
was  extreme.  The  expression  of  his  feeling  on  this  head, 
in  his  private  letters,  is  a  striking  mixture  of  genuine  diffi- 
dence, personal  disappointment  and  elevated  patriotism. 
Neither  the  animosity  of  parties,  nor  the  preponderance  of 
the  enemies  of  the  new  system  in  some  of  the  states,  could 
deprive  him  of  a  single  vote  for  the  station  of  President. 
From  Mount  Vernon  to  New  York,  where  Congress  was  in 
session,  the  journey  of  Washington  had  the  character  of  a 
triumph. 

He  took  the  oath  of  office  on  the  30th  of  April,  1789. 
In  his  inaugural  speech,  he  expressed  his  deep  sense 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  and  invoked 
the  aid  of  that  Almighty  Being,  whose  supremacy  he 
had  always  acknowledged.  In  conformity  with  the  rule  to 
which  he  had  hitherto  adhered,  he  gave  notice  to  Congress, 
that  he  would  accept  no  further  compensation  than  would 
be  necessary  to  defray  the  ordinary  expences  of  his 
station. 

The  President  had  scarcely  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
nis  office,  before  he  was  seized  with  a  severe  malady,  which 
confined  him  to  his  bed  for  six  weeks.  He  had  hardly  re- 
gained strength  to  go  abroad,  when  he  heard  of  the  death 
of  his  mother,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two.  This 
affliction  had  been  expected.  Yet  Washington  deeply  felt 
the  loss  of  a  beloved  parent.  He  had  taken  a  final  farewell 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  89 

of  her  just  before  his  visit  to  New  York  to  be  inaugurated, 
being  then  convinced  that  she  was  rapidly  sinking.  She 
bore  to  the  grave,  the  esteem  and  veneration  of  the  country 
to  whom  she  had  given  so  noble  a  son. 

Congress  creafed  three  departments,  the  heads  of  which 
were  to  form  the  cabinet  of  the  President.  Washington 
appointed  Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State — Alexander 
Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — and  Henry  Knox, 
Secretary  of  War.  All  three  were  men  of  great  talents 
and  extensive  acquirements.  Edmund  Randolph  was  selected 
to  fill  the  office  of  Attorney  General,  and  John  Jay  was 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Thus  the 
ship  of  state  was  set  afloat  with  the  best  of  pilots  and  an 
able  crew.  Alexander  Hamilton  exercised  the  greatest  in- 
fluence upon  the  administration.  Its  chief  measures — the 
funding  system,  the  assumption  of  the  state  debts,  the  bank, 
and  ths  tax  on  domestic  spirits,  all  of  which  excited  the 
opposition  of  a  large  party,  with  Jefferson  at  its  head,  ori- 
ginated from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  But  it  was 
Washington's  approval  and  personal  influence  that  secured 
them  an  adoption  and  a  due  degree  of  respect.  The  spirit 
tax  was  openly  and  violently  resisted  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
a  strong  military  force  alone,  put  down  the  opposition.  Yet, 
throughout  the  country,  the  affection  of  the  people  for 
Washington  remained  unchanged.  In  firmly  performing 
his  official  duty  he  had  given  additional  reason  for  this 
attachment, 

Hamilton  and  Jefferson  differed  concerning  every  measure 
of  the  administration.  Jefferson  discharged  the  duties  of 
his  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  President,  but  his 
support  of  the  government  was  not  that  of  a  cordial  will, 
Washington  recommended  mutual  forbearance  of  the  party 


40  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

leaders,  but  their  political  courses  continued  to  diverge,  anJ 
they  finally  became  personal  enemies. 

The  heat  of  parties,  and  the  apprehensions  of  statesmen 
concerning  the  stability  of  the  Union,  induced  Washington 
to  sacrific  3  his  private  inclination  for  the  public  welfare,  and 
to  accept  a  second  term  of  office,  upon  which  he  entered 
March  4th,  1793.  The  Indian  war,  upon  the  north-western 
frontier,  which  had  hitherto  proved  disastrous,  and  the  low- 
ering aspect  of  the  foreign  relations  of  the  Union,  furnished 
full  occupation  to  the  administration.  France  had  become 
a  republic,  and  now  declared  war  against  England.  A  large 
portion  of  the  American  people  deeply  sympathized  with 
the  French,  and  wished  the  government  to  form  an  alliance 
with  the  new  republic.  But  Washington  considered  a  neu- 
tral policy  as  the  safest ;  and  though  he  sympathized  with 
men  struggling  for  freedom,  as  earnestly  as  any,  he  saw  with 
horror  the  atrocities  of  the  monsters  at  the  head  of  the 
French  government,  and  did  not  deem  them  worthy  of  sup- 
port. At  all  events,  in  his  eyes,  neutrality  was  the  pros- 
perous path  for  the  Union.  Genet,  the  French  minister, 
receiving  no  countenance  from  the  government,  appealed  to 
the  people,  and  fitted  out  vessels  in  American  ports,  in  de- 
fiance  of  the  President.  But  the  Republican  party,  as  the 
party  which  leaned  to  a  French  alliance  was  called,  could 
not  support  the  minister  in  such  extreme  measures.  The 
heart  of  the  country  was  with  Washington,  and  he  was  ena- 
bled to  maintain  the  neutrality  of  the  infant  republic. 

Party  strife  was  hot  during  the  whole  of  the  second  term 
of  Washington.  Even  his  private  character  was  assailed. 
Though  the  able  Hamilton  retired  from  the  cabinet,  his 
policy  continued  to  be  that  of  the  President,  and  this  the 
supporters  of  Jefferson  continually  and  bitterly  attacked. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  41 


Ago,  the  love  of  agricultural  pursuits,  n^^  consider?)  ttona 
of  what  was  due  to  republican  institutions,  induced  Wash- 
ington to  determine  to  surrender  the  chief  magistracy  at 
the  end  of  the  second  term.  In  September,  1793,  he  issued 
a  Farewell  Address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  which 
has  ever  been  considered  by  his  countrymen  a  wise  and  pa- 
triotic paper,  always  reliable  for  their  political  guidance. 
He  remained  at  the  seat  of  government  until  the  inaugura- 
tion of  his  successor,  Mr.  Adams,  and  then  retired  to  Mount 
Vernon,  and  devoted  himself  to  agriculture  and  the  man- 
agement of  his  estates. 

In  1798,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  difficulties  with 
France,  the  United  States  armed  by  sea  and  land,  Wash- 
ington was  once  more  called  into  public  service,  receiving 
the  appointment  of  lieutenant-general  of  the  army.  He 
accepted  the  post  upon  condition  that  he  should  be  al- 
lowed to  choose  the  officers  immediately  under  him,  and 
his  judgment  was  at  once  displayed  in  the  selection  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  and  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney 
for  his  major-generals.  Happily,  the  difficulties  were 
settled  before  armies  could  be  set  in  motion.  But 
Washington  retained  his  commission  until  his  death. 

On  Thursday,  tne  12th  of  December,  1799,  he  was  seized 
ffith  an  inflammation  in  the  throat,  which  terminated  his  life 
on  Saturday,  the  14th  of  the  same  month,  in  the  68th  yeai 
of  his  age.  The  mourning  of  his  countrymen  was  that  ol 
children  for  a  father,  as  well  as  that  of  republicans  for  a 
good  and  great  captain.  In  Congress  and  throughout  the 
States,  lofty  eulogiums  were  pronounced  by  orators  and 
statesmen,  and  the  badge  of  woe  was  worn  by  all. 

Painters  and  sculptors  have  preserved  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  Washington.     He  was  tall  and  strongly  built  — 


42  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS, 

nis  frame  L«mg  capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue.  Ilia 
countenance  wore  a  mingled  expression  of  mildness  arni 
dignity.  "  The  moulding  of  his  limbs,  his  step  and  bearing, 
were  as  peculiar,  and  as  easily  recognized,  as  those  of  Na- 
poleon. His  tread  was  measured  and  heavy,  carrying  in 
its  sound  dignity  and  command.  He  was  born  a  monarch, 
in  the  highest  and  best  sense  of  the  term.  The  noble  soul 
within  looked  out  from  a  body  as  noble  as  itself;  and  no 
man  who  ever  stood  in  the  presence  of  either  thought  or 
felt  himself  a  great  man.  It  need  hardly  be  said,  that  the 
idea  of  personal  familiarity  with  Washington  never  entered 
into  the  thought  of  any  of  the  many,  of  all  ranks,  conditions, 
and  endowments,  who  at  different  times  approached  him. 
The  awe  of  his  presence  fell  alike  on  all  men. 

"  There  was,  indeed,  a  person,  (whether  worthy  of  the  name 
of  man  is  doubtful,  certainly  not  of  an  American,)  who  once, 
for  a  wager,  made  the  adventurous  attempt  of  a  familiar 
approach  to  him.  As  General  Washington  was  walking  up 
Chestnut  street,  in  Philadelphia,  having  shortly  before  left 
his  lodgings,  this  individual,  in  the  view  of  his  companions 
,>n  the  other  side  of  the  street,  who  had  witnessed  the  bet, 
and  were  curious  to  see  the  issue,  came  up  to  the  general, 
and  slapping  him  familiarly  on  the  back,  exclaimed,  with  a 
jocose  air,  "  Well,  my  old  fellow,  how  do  you  find  yourself 
this  morning  ?"  Washington  stopped ;  turned  round  ;  looked 
him  full  in  the  face  ;  and  with  freezing  solemnity  said,  "  Sir, 
what  have  I  ever  said,  or  done,  which  induces  you  to  treaf 
me  in  this  manner?"  The  man  shrank  into  nothing,  and 
Was  extinguished. 

"Another  anecdote  is  told  of  his  vindication  of  his  dignity. 
When  Washington  had  his  quarters  near  Newburgh,  he  was 
frequently  occupied  in  writing  those  immortal  letters  to 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON.  43 

Congress,  in  which  it  is  hard  to  saj  whether  the  patriot,  the 
general,  the  statesman,  or  the  father  of  the  American  army, 
shines  the  most  illustriously,    and  which,   of  themselves, 
would  be  enough  to  confer  immortality  upon  their  author ; 
and  he  gave  a  general  order  that  at  such  times  he  was  not 
to  be  disturbed,  or  spoken  to,  unless  under  the  most  urgent 
necessity.     A  militia  officer,  of  no  particular  rank  or  stand- 
ing, came,  one  day,  into  the  ante-room,  and  asked  to  see 
the   conimander-in-chief.       Colonel    Trumbull,  the  aid-de- 
camp who  was  on  duty,  informed  him  that  the  general  was 
not  to  be  seen ;  but  politely  requested  the  officer  to  entrust 
his   business  with  him.      The  officer,   never  having   seen 
Wasington,  little  knowing  with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  and 
very  proud  of  the  opportunity  of  having  a  personal  inter- 
view, treated  this  intimation  with  hauteur,  and  demanded  to 
see  General  Washington  himself,  with  whom,  he  said,  he  had 
important  business.     Colonel  Trumbull  stated  the  positive 
orders  that  had  been  given,  and  said  that  if  he  went  to  the 
general's  private  room  the  consequences  must  be  upon  the 
officer  alone.     "  Oh,  certainly,"  said  he,  smiling,  "I'll  bear 
the    consequences."     The   aid   slowly   and   reluctantly  ap- 
proached   the    chamber,   and    gently  knocked.       "  Who's 
there  ?"  thundered  a  de^p  voice  within,  in  those  tones  which 
none  heard  without  dread.     Colonel  Trumbull  stated  the 
case,  and  said  that  though  repeatedly  warned  of  the  orders, 
the  officer  insisted  on  seeing  him.     "  Does  he  ?"  and  at  the 
same  time  the  warlike  tread  was  heard,  the  door  suddenly 
jpened,  and  Washington  came  forth.     "  I  thought,"  said 
Trumbull,  when  relating  to  me  the  anecdote,   "  I  thought, 
he  would  have  walked  over  him."     "  Well,  sir,  what  is  your 
business  with  me  ?"     The  officer,  with  widely  altered  tono 
and  manner,  stammered  out  some  petty  question  relating  to 


44  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  etiquette  of  camp  duty  in  which  he  had  differed  with  a 
fellow  officer,  and  which  he  wished  to  have  decided  by  the 
commander-in-chief.  Washington  had  never  taken  his  eyes 
off  of  him :  and  when  he  was  done,  replied,  "  Ask  that 
question  of  your  orderly  serjeant,"  and  turned  into  his 
chamber.  Turnbull  said  he  never  in  his  life  saw  a  human 
creature  so  completely  thunderstruck.  He  never  appeared 
again  at  head-quarters. 

"Yet,  it  must  not  be  understood  from  these  instances, 
that  there  was  the  least  want  of  courtesy  in  his  general 
manner ;  the  reverse  is  true  :  he  is  truly  and  uniformly 
polite ;  but  it  was  a  grave  politeness,  infinitely  removed 
from  that  heartless  artificial  polish  which  is  acquired  by 
frivolous  minds,  from  long  converse  with  the  world.* 

•'As  a  military  man,  he  was  brave  enterprising  and  cautious. 
That  malignity  which  has  sought  to  strip  him  of  all  the 
higher  qualities  as  a  general,  has  conceded  to  him  personal 
courage,  and  a  firmness  of  resolution  which  neither  dangers 
or  difficulties  could  shake.  But  candor  will  allow  him  other 
great  and  valuable  endowments.  If  his  military  course  doea 
not  abound  with  splendid  achievements,  it  is  a  series  of  ju- 
dicious measures,  adapted  to  circumstances,  which  probablj 
saved  his  country.  Placed,  without  having  studied  th 
theory,  or  been  taught  in  the  school  of  experience  the  prac 
tice  of  war,  at  the  head  of  an  undisciplined,  ill-organizec1, 
multitude,  which  was  unused  to  the  restraints  and  unac- 
quainted with  the  duties  of  a  camp,  without  the  aid  of  officers 
possessing  those  lights  which  the  commander-in-chief  was 
yet  to  acquire,  it  would  have  been  a  miracle,  indeed,  had  his 
conduct  been  ahsolutely  faultless.  But,  possessing  an  ener- 
getic and  distinguishing  mind,  on  which  the  lessons  of  expo 
•*  A.  J.  Stansbury 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


45 


rience  were  never  lost,  his  errors,  if  lie  committed  any,  were 
quickly  repaired ;  and  those  measures  which  the  state  of 
things  rendered  most  advisable  were  seldom,  if  ever,  ne- 
glected. Inferior  to  his  adversary  in  the  numbers,  in  the 
equipment,  and  in  the  discipline  of  his  troops,  it  is  evidence 
of  real  merit,  that  no  great  and  decisive  advantages  were 
ever  obtained  over  him,  and  the  opportunity  to  strike  an  im- 
portant blow  never  passed  away  unused.  He  had  been 
termed  the  American  Fabius ;  but  those  who  compare  hia 
actions  with  his  means,  will  perceive  at  least  as  much  r.f 
Marcellus  as  of  Fabius  in  his  character.  He  could  not  havo 
been  more  enterprizing  without  endangering  the  cause  he 
defended,  nor  have  put  more  to  hazard  without  incurring 
justly  the  imputation  of  rashness.  Not  relying  upon  those 
chances  which  sometimes  give  a  favorable  issue  to  attempts 
apparently  desperate,  his  conduct  was  regulated  by  calcu- 
lations made  upon  the  capacities  of  his  army,  and  the  real 
situation  of  his  country. 

"  No  truth  can  be  uttered  with  more  confidence  than  that 
the  ends  of  Washington  were  always  upright,  and  his  means, 
always  pure.  He  exhibits  the  rare  example  of  a  politician  to 
whom  wiles  were  absolutely  unknown,  and  whose  professions 
to  foreign  governments,  and  to  his  own  countrymen,  were  al- 
ways sincere.  In  him  was  fully  exemplified  the  real  distinc- 
tion which  forever  exists  between  wisdom  and  cunning,  and  the 
importance  as  well  as  the  truth  of  the  maxim  that '  lonesty  ia 
the  best  policy."  If  Washington  possessed  ambitioii,  that  pas- 
sion was,  in  his  bosom,  so  regulated  by  principles,  or  con- 
trolled by  circumstances,  that  it  was  neither  vicious  nor  tur- 
bulent. Intrigue  was  never  employed  as  the  means  of  ita 
gratification ;  nor  was  personal  aggrandizement  its  object. 

"  The  various  high  and  important  stations  to  which  he  was 


46  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

called  by  the  public  voice,  were  unsought  by  himself;  and,  in 
consenting  to  fill  them,  he  seems  rather  to  have  yielded  to  a 
general  conviction,  that  the  interests  of  his  country  would  be 
thereby  promoted,  than  to  his  particular  inclination.  Nei- 
ther the  extraordinary  partiality  of  the  American  people,  the 
extravagant  praises  which  were  bestowed  upon  him,  nor  the 
inveterate  opposition  and  malignant  calumnies  which  he  ex- 
perienced, had  any  visible  influence  upon  his  conduct.  The 
cause  is  to  DP  looked  for  in  the  texture  of  his  mind.  In 
him.  that  innate  and  unassuming  modesty  which  adulation 
would  have  offended,  which  the  voluntary  plaudit  of  millions 
could  not  betray  into  indiscretion,  and  which  never  obtruded 
upon  others  his  claims  to  superior  consideration,  was  happily 
blended  with  a  high  and  correct  sense  of  personal  dignity, 
and  with  a  just  consciousness  of  that  respect  which  ;s  due  to 
station.  Without  exertion,  he  could  maintain  the  happy 
medium  between  that  arrogance  which  wounds,  and  that  fa- 
cility which  allows  the  office  to  be  degraded  by  the  person 
who  fills  it. 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  great  events  which 
aave  occurred  in  the  United  States,  under  the  auspices  of 
Washington,  without  ascribing  them,  in  some  measure,  to 
him.  If  we  ask  the  causes  of  the  prosperous  issue  of  a  war, 
against  the  successful  termination  of  which  there  were  many 
probabilities ;  of  the  good  which  was  produced,  and  the  ill 
which  was  avoided,  during  an  administration  fated  to  contend 
with  the  strongest  prejudices  that  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances and  of  passions  could  produce ;  of  the  constant  favor 
of  the  great  mass  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  of  the  confidence 
which,  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  was  reposed  in  him — the 
answer,  so  far  as  these  causes  may  be  found  in  his  character, 
will  furnish  a  lesson  well  meriting  the  attention  of  those  who 


0EORGE  WASHINGTON.  47 

are  candidates  for  political  fame.  Endowed  by  nature  with 
a  sound  judgment,  and  an  accurate,  discriminating  mind, 
he  feared  not  that  laborious  attention  which  made  him  per- 
fectly master  of  those  subjects,  in  all  their  relations,  on  which 
he  was  to  decide ;  and  this  essential  quality  was  guided  by 
an  unvarying  sense  of  moral  right,  which  would  tolerate  the 
employment  only  of  those  means  that  would  bear  the  most 
rigid  examination ;  by  a  fairness  of  intention  which  neither 
sought  nor  required  disguise  ;  and  a  purity  of  virtue  which 
was  not  only  untainted,  but  unsuspected.* 

Numerous  monuments  have  been  erected  in  honor  of  the 
Father  of  his  country,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  National 
Monument  at  the  capital  will  be  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world.  But  his  truest  and  noblest  memorial  will 
be  the  glorious  empire  which  he  founded,  and  the  free 
institutions  which  he  launched  for  its  benefit. 


JOHN  ADAMS. 

AMONG  those  whose  eloquence  forwarded  the  revolution, 
and  whose  exertions  kept  alive  that  indomitable  spirit  of 
patriotism,  so  necessary  to  bringing  the  war  to  a  glorious 
termination,  John  Adams  deserves  a  high  and  foremost 
place.  According  to  the  testimony  of  his  rival,  Jefferson, 
he  was  the  colossus  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  the  result 
of  his  determination,  boldness,  and  eloquence.  To  him  was 
accorded  the  great  honor  of  succeeding  Washington  in  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

John  Adams  was  born  on  the  19th  of  October,  (old  style) 
1735,  in  the  town  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts.  His  ances- 
tors were  among  the  founders  of  the  province  in  which  he 
was  born.  He  received  an  elementary  education  in  his  na- 
tive  town,  and  entered  Harvard  College,  in  1751.  On 
graduating,  four  years  afterwards,  he  went  to  Worcester,  to 
teach  school  and  study  law.  James  Putnam  was  his  law 
preceptor  ;  but  he  was  proposed  for  admission  at  the  Suffolk 
county  bar,  in  1758,  by  Jeremy  Gridley,  the  attorney-ge- 
neral of  the  province.  Commencing  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  his  native  town,  Mr.  Adams  soon  became  known 
and  esteemed.  In  1766,  he  removed  to  Boston,  by  the  aJ 

49 


50  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS." 

vice  of  Mr.  Gridley,  and  having  a  fair  field,  quickly  took  a 
high  rank  as  counsel  and  advocate. 

At  an  early  age,  Mr.  Adams  evinced  a  fondness  for  ge- 
neral politics,  and  while  at  college  he  speculated  upon  the 
probability  of  the  colonies  being  the  seeds  of  a  great  empire. 
IL's  feelings  were  strongly  and  ardently  American.  Civil 
and  religious  liberty  he  adored,  and  he  was  among  the  first 
to  denounce  the  oppressive  policy  which  the  mother  country 
pursued  towards  the  provinces.  In  1764,  he  married  Abigal 
Smith,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Smith,  of  Weymouth,  a 
lady  of  strong  intelligence  and  great  personal  advantages. 
In  the  next  year,  Mr.  Adams  published  an  Essay  on  the  C&non 
and  Feudal  Law  ;  the  aim  of  which  was  to  show  the  conspi- 
racy between  church  and  state  for  the  purpose  of  oppressing 
the  people.  This  paper  displayed  as  much  power  of  mind  as 
learning,  and  both  were  remarkable  in  so  young  a  lawyer. 

In  1770,  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  his  ta- 
lents was  evinced  by  his  election  to  a  seat  in  the  legislature 
of  Massachusetts.  The  Boston  Massacre  happened  the  same 
year.     The  people  were  indignant  and  exasperated.   It  was 
feared  that  Captain  Preston  and  other  prominent  persons 
would   be  sacrificed  to  appease  the  popular  fury.     John 
Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy  boldly  volunteered  to  defend  the 
captain  when  he  was  put  upon  trial,  and  secured  him  the 
acquittal  which  was  his  due.     The  patriotism  of  these  ad- 
vocates was  too  well  known  for  them  to  lose  the  favor  of  the 
people  by  their  noble  action.     While  a  member  of  the  legis- 
lature, Mr.  Adams  not  only  opposed  the  measures  of  Go- 
vernor Hutchinson,  but  wrote  against  the  British  ministry 
Tor  the  newspapers.     In  1774,  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Council,  but  was  negatived  by  Governor 
Gage. 


JOHN  ADAMS. 


51 


Sewall.  the  attorney-general,  wrote  a  number  of  essays 
in  defence  of  the  ministry,  which  were  published  during  the 
years  1774-75.  It  was  expected  that  they  would  be  influ- 
ential with  the  people.  But  the  patriotic  leaders  were  pre- 
pare 1  to  counteract  them.  Mr.  Adams  wrote  several  replies 
under  the  name,  "Nov  Anglus."  These  papers  were  cha- 
racterized by  power  of  logic,  and  clearness  and  simplicity 
of  style.  These  added  to  his  reputation,  and  in  1774,  he 
was  appointed  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress.  In  that  body,  his  decided  course  and 
earnest  eloquence  procured  him  considerable  influence. 

In  the  second  Congress  which  met  in  May,  1775,  he 
again  took  his  seat.  He  advocated  the  boldest  measures 
with  great  force  ajid  brilliancy.  Congress  contained  many 
pure  and  lofty  characters ;  and  to  be  a  leader  in  such  a 
body  was  not  a  common  distinction,  Where  such  orators 
as  Henry,  Rutledge,  and  Lee,  and  such  statesmen  as  Wash- 
ington, Mason,  Sherman^  Franklin,  and  Jefferson,  were  to 
be  found,  what  must  he  have  been  who  was  called  the  "  co- 
lossus ?"  Truly,  John  Adams  was,  in  will  and  mind,  a  great 
man.  It  was  at  his  suggestion,  that  Washington  was  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  independence, 
and  throughout  the  revolution,  he  was  his  constant  friend. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1776,  Richard  Henry  Lee  made  the 
famous  motion,  that  the  colonies  be  declared  free  and  inde- 
pendent states.  This  gave  rise  to  an  animated  discussion. 
John  Adams  took  the  lead  upon  the  side  of  independence, 
and  made  some  fervent  and  powerful  appeals  to  the  Con- 
gress to  take  the  decisive  step. 

The  Declaration  was  adopted.  The  committee  appointed 
to  draw  up  the  document  consisted  of  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Roger  Sherman,  and 


52 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


Robert  L.  Livingston.  It  was  approved  and  signed  by  all 
the  members,  on  the  4th  of  July.  During  the  year,  Mr. 
Adams  was  appointed  upon  a  committee  with  Benjamiq 
Franklin,  and  Edward  Rutledge,  to  treat  with  Lord  Howe, 
Tor  the  pacification  of  the  colonies.  As  was  expected,  the 
committee  effected  nothing  towards  the  object.  The  offeis 
of  the  British  government  could  not  be  accepted. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1777,  Congress  appointed  Mr.  Adams 
commissioner  to  the  court  of  France,  in  the  place  of  Silas 
Deane.  When  he  arrived  in  France,  he  found  that  a  treaty 
of  amity  and  commerce,  as  well  as  an  alliance,  offensive 
and  defensive,  had  already  been  consummated ;  and  after 
the  minister  plenipotentiary,  Doctor  Franklin,  arrived,  he 
returned  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  summer  of  1779,  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen  to  a  seat 
in  the  Massachusetts  convention  for  forming  a  new  consti- 
tution. As  a  member  of  the  committee  for  drafting  the 
fundamental  charter,  he  formed  a  plan,  the  most  important 
features  of  which  were  adopted.  While  he  attended  to  the 
business  of  the  convention,  another  important  office  was 
prepared  for  him.  Congress  resolved  to  send  a  minister 
plenipotentiary  for  negotiating  a  peace  with  Great  Britain, 
and  Mr.  Adams  received  the  appointment.  In  November, 
1779,  he  sailed  for  Europe.  Abroad,  Mr.  Adams  main- 
tained the  character  of  a  stern  and  bold  republican.  While 
other  ambassadors  and  commissioners  flattered  the  French 
court,  and  took  all  favors  as  great  condescentions,  he  took 
another  course.  He  knew  that  it  was  to  the  interest  of 
France  to  divide  the  British  empire,  and  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  make  demands  r.s  well  as  to  ask  favors.  His  great  ob- 
jects were  to  effect  a  loan  in  Holland,  and  to  induce  that 
country  to  recognise  the  independence  of  the  colonies.  He 


JOHN  ADAMS.  53 

was  successful  to  the  full  extent  of  his  wishes.  In  1782,  he 
negotiated  a  very  favorable  treaty,  and  obtained  a  loan  of 
eight  million  guilders. 

In  1781,  h3  was  associated  with  Dr.  Franklin,  John  Jay, 
John  Laurens,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  in  a  commission  for 
concluding  trsaties  with  various  European  powers,  \\itb 
Franklin,  Jay,  and  Laurens,  he  negotiated  the  definite  treaty 
of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
which  was  signed  on  the  3rd  of  September,  1783.  Mr. 
Adams  remained  in  Europe,  serving  his  country  in  various 
capacities  until  1788.  In  1785,  he  was  appointed  minister 
to  Great  Britain,  where  he  was  coldly  received  by  the  go- 
vernment, and  was  unable  to  effect  a  commercial  treaty. 
But  by  assisting  to  form  advantageous  treaties  with  Prussia 
and  Morocco,  and  by  writing  elaborately  and  eloquently  in 
defence  of  the  forms  of  government  established  in  the  United 
States,  he  won  a  title  to  the  gratitude  of  his  countrymen. 

When  permission  was  given  Mr.  Adams  to  return  from 
Europe,  congress  adopted  the  following  resolution : — "  Re- 
solved, That  Congress  entertains  a  high  sense  of  the  services 
which  Mr.  Adams  has  rendered  to  the  United  States,  in  the 
execution  of  the  various  important  trusts  which  they  have 
from  time  to  time,  committed  to  him,  and  that  the  thanks 
of  Congress  be  presented  to  him  for  the  patriotism,  perse- 
verance, integrity  and  diligence  with  which  he  has  ably  and 
faithfully  served  his  country."  This  expression  of  approval 
of  his  labors  at  home  and  abroad  must  have  been  a  deep 
gratification  to  the  zealous  patriot. 

When  Washington  was  elected  to  the  Preidency,  Mr. 
Adams  was  elevated  to  the  office  of  Vice  President.  He 
presided  in  the  Senate  with  dignity  and  judgment,  during 
the  whole  of  Washington's  administration,  cordially  ap 


54  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

proved  of  the  President's  policy,  and  lent  his  personal  in 
fluence  to  the  support  of  the  administration.  The  Senate, 
at  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Adamss'  second  term  of  office, 
adopted  a  farewell  address,  containing  the  strongest  ex- 
pressions of  respect  and  attachment  for  him.  In  1790, 
while  holding  the  office  of  Vice  President,  Mr.  Adams  added 
to  the  number  <  f  his  valuable  political  papers  by  the  publi- 
cation of  his  celebrated  "Discourses  on  Davila,"  a  sequel 
to  his  "  Defence  of  the  American  Constitution." 

On  the  retirement  of  Washington,  Mr.  Adams  was  elected 
to  fill  the  Presidential  chair.  The  contest  was  close  and 
spirited,  Thomas  Jefferson  being  supported  by  the  republi- 
cans, or  democrats,  Thomas  Pinckney  by  a  portion  of  the 
federal  party,  and  Mr.  Adams,  by  the  friends  of  the  policy 
of  the  last  administration  generally.  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
elected  Vice  President.  In  March,  1797,  the  newly  chosen 
President  and  Vice  President  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
their  respective  offices.  The  two  houses  of  Congress  having 
enjoined  the  successors  of  Washington  to  follow  his  great 
example, — Mr.  Adams,  in  his  inaugural  address,  thus  spoke 
of  what  he  knew  to  be  his  own  qualifications  and  principles : 

"  If  a  preference,  upon  principle,  of  a  free  republican 
government,  formed  upon  long  and  serious  reflection,  after  a 
diligent  and  impartial  inquiry  after  truth  ;  if  an  attachment 
to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a  conscientious 
determination  to  support  it,  until  it  shall  be  altered  by  the 
judgments  and  wishes  of  the  people,  expressed  in  the  mode 
prescribed  in  it ;  if  a  respectful  attention  to  the  constitutions 
of  the  individual  states,  and  a  constant  caution  and  delicacy 
towards  tte  state  governments ;  if  an  equal  and  important 
regard  to  the  rights,  interest,  honor,  and  happiness,  of  all 
the  states  in  the  Union,  without  preference  or  regard  to  a 


JOHN  ADAMS. 


55 


northern  or  southern,  an  eastern  or  western  position,  their 
various  political  opinions  on  unessential  points,  or  their  per- 
sonal attachments ;  if  a  love  of  virtuous  men  of  all  parties 
and  denominations ;  if  a  love  of  science  and  letters,  and  a 
wish  to  patronize  every  rational  effort  to  encourage  schools, 
colleges,  universities,  academies,  and  every  institution  for 
propagating  knowledge,  virtue,  and  religion,  among  all 
classes  of  the  people,  not  only  for  their  benign  influence  on 
the  happiness  of  life  in  all  its  stages  and  classes,  and  of  so- 
ciety in  all  its  forms,  but  as  the  only  means  of  preserving 
our  constitution  from  its  natural  enemies,  the  spirit  of  sophis- 
try, the  spirit  of  party,  the  spirit  of  intrigue,  the  profligacy 
of  corruption,  and  the  pestilence  of  foreign  influence,  which 
is  the  angel  of  destruction  to  elective  governments  ;  if  a  love 
of  equal  laws,  of  justice,  and  of  humanity  in  the  interior 
administration ;  if  an  inclination  to  improve  agriculture, 
commerce,  and  manufactures  for  necessity,  convenience,  and 
defence ;  if  a  spirit .  of  equity  and  humanity  towards  the 
aboriginal  nations  of  America,  and  a  disposition  to  melio- 
rate their  condition  by  inclining  them  to  be  more  friendly 
to  us,  and  our  citizens  to  be  more  friendly  to  them ;  if  an 
indexible  determination  to  maintain  peace  and  inviolable 
faith  with  all  nations,  and  that  system  of  neutrality  and 
impartiality  among  all  the  belligerent  powers  of  Europe 
which  has  been  adopted  by  this  government,  and  so  solemnly 
sanctioned  by  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  applauded  by 
the  legislatures  of  the  states  and  the  public  opinion,  until  it 
shall  be  otherwise  ordained  by  Congress ;  if  a  personal 
esteem  for  the  French  nation,  formed  in  a  residence  of 
seven  years,  chiefly  among  them,  and  &  sincere  desire  to 
preserve  the  friendship  which  has  been  so  much  for  the 
honor  and  interest  of  both  nations ;  if,  while  the  con- 


56  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Beious  honor  and  integrityof  the  people  of  America,  and  the 
internal  sentiment  of  their  own  power  and  energies  must  be 
preserved,  an  earnest  endeavor  to  promote  every  just  cause, 
and  remove  every  colorable  pretence  of  complaint ;  if  an  in- 
tention to  pursue  by  amicable  negotiation  a  reparation  for 
the  injuries  that  have  been  committed  on  the  commerce  of 
our  fellow-citizens  by  whatever  nation ;  and  if  success  cannot 
be  obtained,  to  lay  the  facts  before  the  legislature,  that  they 
may  consider  what  further  measures  the  honor  and  interest 
of  the  government  and  its  constituents  demand  ;  if  a  resolu- 
tion to  do  justice,  as  far  as  may  depend  upon  me,  at  all  times 
and  to  all  nations,  and  maintain  peace,  friendship,  and  be- 
nevolence with  all  the  world ;  if  an  unshaken  confidence  in 
the  honor,  spirit,  and  resources  of  the  American  people,  on 
which  I  have  so  often  hazarded  my  all,  and  never  been  de- 
ceived ;  if  elevated  ideas  of  the  high  destinies  of  this  country 
and  my  own  duties  towards  it,  founded  on  a  knowledge  of 
the  moral  principles  and  intellectual  improvements  of  the 
people,  deeply  engraven  on  my  mind  in  early  life,  and  not 
obscured,  but  exalted  by  experience  and  age ;  and,  with 
humble  reverence,  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  add,  if  a  vc  ne- 
ration  for  the  religion  of  a  people  who  profess  and  call  tl  em- 
selves  Christians,  and  a  fixed  resolution  to  consider  a  decent 
respect  for  Christianity  among  the  best  recommendations  for 
the  public  service,  can  enable  me,  in  any  degree  to  comply 
with  your  wishes,  it  shall  be  my  strenuous  endeavor,  that 
this  sagacious  injunction  of  the  two  houses  shall  not  be  w'.th- 
aut  effect." 

Mr.  Adams  continued  in  office  the  same  cabinet  which 
had  been  left  by  President  Washington,  viz.:  Timothy  Pick- 
ering, Secretary  of  State ;  Oliver  Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury ;  James  M'Henry,  Secretary  of  Wai  ;  and  Charles 


JOHN  ADAMS.  57 

Lee,  Attorney  General.  The  Navy  Department  was  not 
created  until  1798,  when  Benjamin  Stoddart,  of  Maryland, 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  difficulties  with  France  pressed  upon  the  new  admi- 
nistration, and  the  calling  of  a  special  session  of  Congress, 
was  its  first  important  measure.  The  state  of  affairs  por- 
tended war.  Mr.  C.  C.  Pinckney,  the  American  minister, 
had  been  expelled  from  France,  and  the  government  of  that 
country  had  issued  new  orders  for  depredations  upon  Ame- 
rican commerce.  There  was  a  decided  federal  majority  in 
both  houses  of  Congress,  and  the  President  was,  therefore, 
enabled  to  carry  through  all  the  measures  deemed  necessary 
for  the  national  defence.  Several  taxes  were  imposed  to 
meet  extra  expenses,  however,  which  were  very  unpopular. 

President  Adams  neglected  no  means  of  conciliation.  He 
appointed  Messrs.  C.  C.  Pinckney,  Elbridge  Gerry,  and 
John  Marshall,  special  envoys  to  the  French  republic,  with 
ample  powers.  But  the  French  government  would  not  con- 
fer with  them  officially ;  and  Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Mar- 
shall, satisfied  that  no  treaty  could  be  consummated,  re- 
quested to  be  allowed  to  return.  Soon  after  they  were 
ordered  to  leave  France.  Mr.  Gerry  was  invited  to  remain, 
and  he  did  so. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  were  indignant  at  the 
conduct  of  the  French  government.  Money  had  been  de- 
manded as  the  price  of  peace.  But  the  people  responded 
to  the  sentiment  of  Mr.  Pinckney — "  Millions  for  defence, 
but  not  a  cent  for  tribute."  Mr.  Gerry  was  censured  for 
not  having  withdrawn  with  his  colleagues,  though  his  inten- 
tions were  honorable.  As  soon  as  he  found  there  was  no 
hope  of  effecting  a  treaty,  he  returned  to  the  United  States. 

\Yhen  Congress  met,  measures  for  national  defence  were 


58  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

adopted.  In  June,  1798,  an  act  was  passed,  suspending 
commercial  intercourse  with  France  and  her  colonies.  At 
this  period,  the  administration  was  very  popular.  The  de- 
mocratic party  could  not  muster  strongly  in  opposition  to 
the  President's  measures.  Still  its  members  were  active 
and.  determined.  Although  there  was  no  declaration  of  Avar 
on  the  part  of  either  country,  hostilities  commenced  upon 
the  sea,  and  Commodore  Truxtun  gained  two  brilliant  vic- 
tories over  French  vessels  of  superior  force.  War  was  not 
the  aim  of  the  French  government.  As  soon  as  the  deter- 
mined spirit  of  the  United  States  displayed  itself,  the  hos- 
tile rulers  fell  back,  and  a  treaty  of  friendship,  peace,  and 
commerce  was  proposed. 

During  the  autumn  of  1798  Congress  adopted  two  acts 
which  became  very  unpopular.  These  were  the  alien  and 
sedition  laws.  The  alien  law  empowered  the  President  to 
order  aliens,  whom  he  found  conspiring  against  the  govern- 
ment, to  depart  from  its  territories.  The  sedition  law  pu- 
nished libels  upon  the  goverment  and  its  officers.  The  first 
was  said  to  be  liable  to  an  abusive  interpretation,  and  the 
second,  to  restrict  the  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press. 
The  opposition  to  these  laws  was  very  strong  in  various 
parts  of  the  country. 

As  the  French  government  evinced  a  desire  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  the  United  States,  the  President  appointed 
Mr.  Murray,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  and  Patrick  Henry,  envoys. 
Mr.  Henry  declined  the  appointment.  In  his  letter  of  de- 
clination, he  said :  "  Nothing  short  of  absolute  necessity 
coull  induce  me  to  withhold  my  feeble  aid  frctn  an  admini- 
stration whose  abilities,  patriotism  and  virtue,  deserve  the 
gratitude  and  reverence  of  all  their  fellow  citizens."  William 
R.  Davie  was  appointed  as  a  substitute.  The  President  did 


JOHN  ADAMS.  59 

not  consult  his  cabinet  upon  this  occasion.  Mr.  Pickering, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  M'Henry,  Secretary  of  War, 
remonstrated  against  the  course  pursued.  They,  with  Ha- 
milton and  other  leading  federalists,  thought  the  first  de- 
cided offer  to  treat  should  come  from  France.  However, 
the  envoys  were  favorably  received,  and  the  basis  of  a  treaty 
was  soon  settled.  But  the  treaty  itself  was  not  entirely 
ratified  until  after  Mr.  Jefferson's  accession  to  the  Presidency. 

The  democratic  party  had  greatly  gained  in  strength  in 
consequence  of  the  enactment  of  the  alien  and  sedition  laws, 
and  other  administration  measures.  When  the  time  came 
for  nominating  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice 
Presidency,  the  federalists  brought  forward  the  names  of 
President  Adams  and  General  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney 
The  democrats  nominated  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Colonel 
Aaron  Burr.  The  dismissal  of  Messrs.  Pickering  and  M'- 
Henry from  the  cabinet  caused  a  division  among  the  federal- 
ists. General  Hamilton  wrote  a  letter,  censuring  the  cha- 
racter of  the  President,  which  was  calculated  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  opponenets  of  the  administration.  When  the 
vote  in  the  electoral  college  was  ascertained,  it  was  found 
as  follows : — Jefferson,  seventy-three ;  Burr,  seventy-three  ; 
Adams,  sixty-five ;  Pinckney,  sixty-four  ;  John  Jay,  one. 
The  votes  for  Jefferson  and  Burr  being  equal,  it  remained 
for  the  house  of  representatives  to  decide  who  should  be 
President,  and  who  Vice  President.  After  thirty-six  bal- 
lotings,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  chosen  to  fill  the  first  office,  and 
Colonel  Burr  for  the  second. 

During  the  summer  of  1800,  the  ^at  of  government  had 
been  removed  from  Philadelphia  to  the  new  federal  city  of 
Washington,  and  at  the  lately  erected  capitol,  President 
Adaias  met  the  sixth  Congress,  on  th<*  'i2d  of  November, 


60  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

1800,  when  lie  delivered  his  last  annual  speech  to  the  national 
legislature. 

After  Mr.  Jefferson's  inauguration,  Mr.  Adams  retired 
bo  "his  estate,  in  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  The  remaiader  of 
his  life  was  passed  in  literary  and  scientific  pursuits,  though 
he  occasionally  addressed  the  public  through  political  papers. 
He  always  maintained  a  friendly  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Jefferson,  and  approved  of  the  chief  measures  of  that  states- 
man's administration.  He  also  supported  Mr.  Madison, 
during  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  beginning  in  1812.  In 
1816,  the  republican  party  in  Massachusetts,  placed  his  name 
at  the  head  of  their  electoral  ticket,  a  great  compliment 
from  the  opponents  of  his  presidential  career.  In  1820,  he 
was  solicited  to  act  as  President  of  the  Massachusetts  state 
convention  for  framing  a  constitution ;  but  he  declined. 
The  convention,  however,  adopted  a  resolution,  acknowledg- 
ing the  great  services  he  had  rendered  to  his  country  and 
mankind. 

The  loss  of  his  amiable  and  talented  wife,  who  died  in 
1818,  was  a  deep  affliction  to  Mr.  Adams.  For  many  years 
she  had  shared  his  trials,  misfortunes,  and  joys ;  and  she 
evinced  a  patriotic  as  well  as  a  loving  spirit.  But  the  old 
patriot  lived  to  see  his  son,  John  Quincy  Adams,  elevated  to 
the  Presidency — truly  a  great  qualification.  He  died  at  the 
good  old  age  of  ninety-one,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  that  independence  winch  he  had  strug- 
gled to  achieve.  Thomas  Jefferson  expired  on  the  same  day. 

Mr.  Adams  had  the  soul  of  an  apostle  of  a  great  revolu- 
tion. He  was  a  bold,  determined,  and  indefatigable  supporter 
of  what  his  heart  and  mind  told  him  was  right.  He  inquired, 
decided,  resolved,  and  acted,  without  the  slightest  fear  of 
consequences,  and  was  therefore  the  very  spirit  of  indepen- 


JOHN  ADAMS.  61 

clence.  It  has  been  said  that  he  was  careless  of  the  views 
and  feelings  of  others,  and  there  is  probably  much  truth  in 
the  assertion.  But  a  feeling  of  self-sufficiency  is  generally 
the  result  of  a  knowledge  of  the  power  of  ourself,  and  it  has 
been  a  characteristic  of  most  of  those  earnest  and  indomi- 
table men  who  have  effected  important  changes  in  the  world. 
John  Adams  could  not  have  fulfilled  his  mission,  if  he  had 
not  possessed  a  thorough  self-reliance. 

"  Mr.  Adams  was  a  finished  gentleman  in  his  manners, 
w:.th  an  aristocratic  bearing  which,  together  with  his  known 
leaning  towards  sentiments  of  a  similar  cast,  obtained  for 
him  among  his  political  enemies  the  soubriquet  of  Duke  of 
Braintree.  There  seemed  to  be  testiness  about  him  when 
contradicted,  and  some  want  of  condescension  towards  men 
of  low  estate  and  vulgar  manners.  It  did  not  amount  to 
Horace's  Odi  ignobile  vulgus,  et  arceo,  but  it  had  a  pretty 
strong  tincture  of  it,  and  exposed  him  to  much  misconception 
and  misrepresentation.  For  the  bulk  of  mankind,  especially 
of  those  who  from  their  position .  in  society  contemplate 
public  characters  only  at  a  distance,  and  are  seldom  brought 
into  personal  contact  with  them,  are  very  apt  to  form  their 
impressions  more  from  manner  than  any  other  criterion 
Manner  strikes  them  at  once,  and  with  great  effect,  and  if 
a  man's  manner  to  his  inferiors  is  shy  or  haughty,  he  may 
calculate  on  their  hatred,  and  if  he  holds  an  elective  office, 
he  will  certainly  lose  their  votes,  be  his  public  merits  what 
they  may."* 

Mr.    Adams  was  of  middle   stature,  and   rather  fleshy. 

His  countenance  beamed  with  intelligence  and  determination. 

Uis  bearing  was  firm  and  dignified.     When  speaking,  hia 

manner  was  slow  and  deliberate ;  till  he  became  ex  sited,  and 

*  A..  J.  Stansbury. 


62  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

then  the  words  came  forth  with  rapidity  and  energy.     He 
was  a  man  of  the  purest  morals  and  a  practical  Christian. 

No  man  was  ever  more  misrepresented  or  misunderstood. 
In  the  heat  of  party  spirit,  the  name  of  John  Adams  was 
coupled  with  that  of  traitor.  Traitor  indeed  !  The  man  who 
applied  the  epithet  could  never  have  felt  a  tithe  of  that 
broad  devotion  to  his  country  which  made  John  Adams,  tho 
civic  leader  of  the  war  of  independence.  His  earnestness 
in  the  noble  cause  was  the  whole  secret  of  his  greatness. 
When  will  partisans  learn  the  nobility  of  tolerance  ? 

Mr.  Webster  in  his  eulogy,  thus  speaks  of  the  latt  ^r  days 
of  Mr.  Adams's  life.  "  He  has  lived,  for  five  and  twenty 
years,  with  every  enjoyment  that  could  make  old  age  happy. 
Not  inattentive  to  the  occurrences  of  the  times  political  cares 
have  yet  not  materially,  or  for  any  long  time,  disturbed  his 
repose.  In  1820  he  acted  as  elector  of  President  and  Vice 
President,  and  in  the  same  year  we  saw  him,  then  Lt  the 
age  of  eighty-five,  a  member  of  the  convention  of  this 
commonwealth,  called  to  revise  the  constitution.  Forty 
years  before,  he  had  been  one  of  those  who  formed  that 
constitution ;  and  he  had  now  the  pleasure  of  witnessing 
that  there  was  little  which  the  people  desired  to  change. 
Possessing  all  his  faculties  to  the  end  of  his  long  life,  with 
an  un  \bated  love  of  reading  and  contemplation,  in  the  centre 
of  interesting  circles  of  friendship  and  affection,  he  was 
blessed,  in  his  retirement,  with  whatever  of  repose  and  fe- 
licity, the  condition  of  man  allows.  He  had,  also,  other 
enjoyments.  He  saw  around  him  that  prosperity  and  gene- 
ral happiness,  which  had  been  the  object  of  his  public  cares 
and  labors.  No.  man  ever  beheld  more  clearly,  and  for  a 
longer  time,  the  great  and  beneficial  effects  of  the  services 
rendered  by  himself  to  his  country.  That  liberty,  of  which  he 


JOHN  ADAMS.  63 

was  so  able  an  advocate  and  supporter,  he  saw,  we  trust, 
firmly  and  securely  established.  The  population  of  the 
country  thickened  around  him  faster,  and  extended  wider, 
than  his  own  sanguine  predictions  had  anticipated ;  and  the 
wealth,  respectability,  and  power  of  the  nation  sprang  up  to 
a  magnitude,  which  it  is  quite  impossible  he  could  have  ex- 
pected to  witness,  in  his  day.  He  lived,  also,  to  behold 
those  principles  of  civil  freedom,  which  had  been  developed, 
established,  and  practically  applied  in  America,  attract  at- 
tention, command  respect,  and  awaken  imitation,  in  other 
regions  of  the  globe :  and  well  might,  and  well  did  he,  ex- 
claim, '  Where  will  the  consequences  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution end !' 

"  If  any  thing  yet  remain  to  fill  this  cup  of  happiness,  let 
it  be  added,  that  he  lived  to  see  a  great  and  intelligent 
people  bestow  the  highest  honor  in  their  gift,  where  he  had 
bestowed  his  own  kindest  parental  affections,  and  lodged  hia 
fondest  hopes.  Thus  honored  in  life,  thus  happy  at  death, 
he  saw  the  jubilee,  and  he  died ;  and  with  the  last  prayers 
which  trembled  on  his  lips,  was  supplication  for  his  country, 
'independence  foi  ever.' " 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

GREAT  men  generally  have  the  warmest  friends  and  the 
bitterest  enemies.  A  decided  preference  for  a  certain  set 
of  principles  and  a  bold  and  persevering  pursuit  of  a  well  • 
known  path,  naturally  causes  this  state  of  feeling.  The 
principles  may  be  unsound :  the  path  may  be  wrong.  It  is 
the  sincere,  brave,  and  determined  action  which  is  the  es- 
sence of  greatness.  The  prominence  which  such  action 
gives  a  man  makes  him  the  idol  of  those  who  agree  with 
him,  and  the  mark  for  the  shaft  of  those  who  dissent.  Even 
at  the  present  day,  the  character  and  political  course  of 
Thomas  Jefferson  are  subjects  of  violent  discussion.  One 
set  of  men  regard  him  as  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  virtuous 
statesmen  who  have  ever  lived,  and  another  persists  in  the 
assertion  that  he  was  both  insincere  and  wrong-headed. 
But  it  must  be  agreed  that  he  was  a  great  man.  He  wrote 
and  talked  greatly ;  many  great  men  looked  up  to  him ; 
and  he  left  a  broad  wake  upon  the  ocean  of  American  politics. 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  born  at  a  place  called  Shadwell,  in 
Albemarle  county,  Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  April,  (old  style,) 
1743.  Peter  Jefferson,  his  father,  was  a  man  of  some  dis- 
tinction in  the  colony.  He  died  in  1757,  leaving  a  widow 
and  eight  children — Thomas  being  the  eldest.  The  "children 

65 


66  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

were  left  in  good  circumstances.  Thomas  received  the 
lands  which  he  called  Monticello,  on  which  he  afterwards 
resided,  when  not  engaged  in  public  duties.  At  the  age  of 
five,  he  was  sent  to  an  elementary  school ;  and  four  yeara 
afterwards,  he  commenced  the  study  of  Latin,  Greek,  and 
French.  In  the  spring  of  1760,  he  entered  William  and 
Mary  College,  where  he  prosecuted  his  studies  for  two  years. 
He  there  acquired  the  friendship  of  the  j  rofessor  of  mathe- 
matics, Dr.  William  Small,  who  introduced  him  to  George 
Wythe,  under  whose  instruction,  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  law. 

In  1764,  when  just  twenty-one  years  old,  Mr.  Jefferson 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  general  court.  At  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law  he  continued  until  the  revolution  closed  the 
courts  of  justice.  Several  written  arguments  upon  intricate 
Jaw  questions  have  been  preserved,  which  prove  that  Mr. 
Jefferson  would  have  attained  the  front  rank  in  his  profes- 
sion. But  he  possessed  no  talent  for  oratory,  and  never 
made  a  conspicuous  figure  in  debate. 

While  he  was  a  student  at  law,  in  Williamsburg,  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson heard  the  famous  speech  of  Patrick  Henry,  in  the 
Virginia  house  of  delegates,  against  the  stamp  act ;  animated 
b  T  the  spirit  of  that  great  orator,  he  from  that  time  stood 
forth  as  a  champion  for  his  country.  In  1769,  he  was 
chosen  by  the  people  of  his  county  to  represent  them  in  the 
legislature  of  the  province.  In  that  capacity,  which  he 
maintained  up  to  the  period  of  the  revolution,  Mr.  Jefferson 
made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  procure  the  emancipation 
of  slaves  in  Virginia.  Thus  his  first  impjrtant  movement 
was  in  behalf  of  human  liberty.  In  January,  1772,  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Martha  Skelton,  a  young  widow,  possessed  of 
considerable  property. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  67 

On  the  12th  of  March,  1773,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  appointed 
a  membei  of  the  first  committee  of  correspondence  esta 
blished  by  the  colonial  legislatures,  and  in  the  next  year  he 
published  his  powerful  pamphlet,  called,  "  Summary  View 
of  the  Rights  of  British  America,"  which  was  republished 
in  England,  under  the  auspices  of  Edmund  Burke.  In  1776, 
Jefferson  was  chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  Continental  Congress. 
In  that  body,  though  very  young,  he  was  much  esteemed 
and  respected.  Being  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee 
to  prepare  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  drew  up 
that  famous  instrument,  which,  with  a  few  amendments,  was 
adopted  by  Congress.  The  Declaration  remains  as  his 
noblest  monument. 

Mr.  Jefferson  left  Congress  to  take  a  seat  in  the  Virginia 
legislature.  While  in  the  latter  body,  he  acted  as  one  of  acorn- 
mission  for  revising  the  laws  of  the  commonwealth.  Among 
the  laws  proposed  by  him  and  adopted,  were  those  prohibit- 
ing the  future  importation  of  slaves ;  abolishing  the  law  of 
primogeniture ;  and  providing  for  the  equal  partition  of  in- 
heritances ;  for  establishing  religious  freedom ;  and  for  a 
system  of  general  education.  All  these  measures  display 
the  humanity  and  enlightenment  of  their  author. 

The  benevolence  of  Mr.  Jefferson  was  exercised  in  1779, 
when  he  alleviated  the  condition  of  the  British  prisoners, 
who  had  been  captured  at  Saratoga  and  sent  to  Charlottea- 
ville,  Virginia,  to  await  the  action  of  the  British  government. 
When  the  time  came  for  their  leaving  Virginia,  the  officers 
addressed  many  letters  of  thanks  to  him  for  his  kindness 
and  hospitality.  On  the  1st  of  June,  in  the  same  year,  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  elected  by  the  legislature  to  succeed  Patrick 
Henry,  as  Governor  of  Virginia.  He  held  that  office  two 
years,  and  then  retired  to  private  life.  Soon  afterwards,  he 


68  .  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

was  nearly  captured  by  a  party  of  British  cavalry,  sent  to 
Burprise  the  members  of  the  assembly,  at  Charlottesville. 
When  pursued,  Mr.  Jefferson  escaped,  on  his  horse,  through 
the  woods  at  Carter's  Mountain.  The  same  year,  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature. 

M.  De  Marbois,  the  secretary  of  legation  from  France  to 
the  United  States,  wishing  to  obtain  a  general  view  of  the 
geography,  productions,  statistics,  government,  history,  and 
laws,  applied  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  who,  in  answer,  wrote  his 
famous  "  Notes  on  Virginia,"  which  work  was  soon  after 
published  both  in  French  and  English.  The  veracity  and 
accuracy  of  its  matter,  and  the  simple  beauty  of  its  style 
excited  general  admiration  The  work  was  written  in  1781. 

In  1782,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  appointed  by  Congress  to 
join  the  able  American  negotiators  then  in  Europe,  but  in- 
telligence having  been  received  that  the  preliminaries  of  a 
treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed,  his  services  were  dispensed 
with.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress  in  1783,  and 
in  the  next  year,  he  wrote  notes  on  the 'establishment  of  a 
coinage  for  the  United  States.  To  him  we  are  indebted  for 
the  dollar  as  a  unit,  and  our  present  system  of  coins  and 
decimals* 

In  May,  1784,  Congress  joined  Mr.  Jefferson  with  Messrs. 
Adams  and  Franklin,  as  ministers  plenipotentiary  to  nego- 
tiate treaties  of  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  in  the 
next  year,  he  succeeded  Dr.  Franklin  as  minister  at  the 
French  court.  The  society  of  Paris  suited  the  taste  of 
Mr.  Jefferson.  He  was  courted  by  the  witty,  learned,  and 
scientific,  and  his  sociable  disposition,  winning  manners, 
and  brilliant  conversation,  found  full  appreciation.  He  re- 
mair.«:d  in  Paris  until  the  latter  part  of  1789,  when  he  ob- 
tained leave  of  absence,  and  returned  to  the  United  States. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  69 

On  his  way  to  Monticello,  he  received  from  President  Wash- 
ington, the  offer  of  a  seat  in  the  cabinet,  as  secretary  of  state, 
which  Le  accepted  though  he  was  inclined  to  return  to 
France. 

While  in  the  cabinet,  under  Washington,  Mr.  Jefferson 
made  many  able  reports,  and  skilfully  conducted  the  corres- 
pondence with  foreign  governments.  But  his  partiality  for 
France,  and  disapproval  of  the  chief  measures  proposed  ]>y 
Hamilton,  caused  constant  bickering  and  contention.  A 
strong  opposition  to  the  government  was  formed,  under  tt  o 
wing  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  Party  spirit  ran  high,  and  even  the 
private  character  of  Washington  was  assailed  by  the  repub- 
lica**0  of  the  period.  It  has  been  asserted  that  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son was  much  too  intimate  with  the  authors  of  these  vitupe- 
rations, but'  no  conclusive  evidence  of  his  countenancing  any 
such  disgraceful  proceedings  has  been  adduced.  On  the  31st 
of  December,  1793,  Mr.  Jefferson  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
cabinet,  and  retired  to  Monticello. 

In  1796,  the  republican  party  supported  Mr.  Jefferson  for 
the  Presidency ;  but  Mr.  Adams  received  the  highest  number 
of  votes.  Mr.  Jefferson  then  became  Vice  President. 
During  the  time  he  held  this  office,  he  composed  a  manual 
for  the  senate,  which  has  since  been  the  guide  of  Congress 
and  most  other  political  bodies  in  the  states,  for  the  transaction 
of  business. 

In  1800,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  again  nominated  for  the 
Presidency,  This  time  he  received  a  higher  number  of 
electoral  votes  than  Mr.  Adams.  But  Colonel  Burr  received 
the  same  number,  and  therefore  the  election  devolved  upon 
house  of  representatives.  Upon  the  thirty-sixth  ballot,  Mr. 
Jefferson  received  a  majority,  and  therefore  became  Presi- 
dent. Colonel  Burr,  of  course,  became  Vice  I'resident. 


70  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Both  entered  upon  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1801. 

The  inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Jefferson  was  a  lucid  and 
forcible  production,  explaining  his  ideas  of  good  government, 
and  conciliating  all  parties.  The  new  organization  of  the 
cabinet  was  commenced  by  the  appointment  of  James  Ma- 
lison to  be  Secretary  of  State  ;  Henry  Dearborn,  Secretary 
of  War ;  Levi  Lincoln,  Attorney  General.  Not  long  after,  Al- 
bert Gallatin  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
Robert  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  From  the  declarations 
contained  in  the  inaugural  address,  the  federalists  in  office 
inferred  that  they  would  be  allowed  to  remain  at  their  posts. 
But  President  Jefferson  soon  indicated  his  determination  to 
reward  his  friends  and  remove  his  foes.  This  policy  caused 
a  considerable  outcry  at  first,  but  the  first  result  was,  that 
a  great  many  federalists,  eager  for  office,  joined  the  ranks 
of  the  republican  party. 

On  the  14th  of  May,  1801,  the  President  wrote  to  Na- 
thaniel Macon,  of  North  Carolina,  a  member  of  Congress, 
giving  information  in  regard  to  some  of  his  projects,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Levees  are  to  be  done  away  with.  The  first  com- 
munication to  the  next  Congress  will  be,  like  all  subsequent 
ones,  by  message,  to  which  no  answer  will  be  expected.  The 
diplomatic  establishments  in  Europe  will  be  reduced  to  three 
ministers.  The  army  is  undergoing  a  chaste  reformation. 
The  navy  will  be  reduced  to  the  legal  establishment  by  the 
last  of  this  month.  Agencies  in  every  department  will  be 
revised.  We  shall  push  you  to  the  utmost  in  economising. 
A  very  early  recommendation  had  been  given  to  the  post- 
master general,  to  employ  no  printer,  foreigner,  or  revolu- 
tionary tory,  in  any  of  his  offices.  This  department  is  still 
untouched." 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  71 

Majorities  in  both  houses  of  the  seventh.  Congress  enabled 
the  President  to  carry  through  many  measures  not  otherwise 
practicable.  Many  acts  obnoxious  to  the  majority  of  the 
people  were  repealed ;  a  uniform  system  of  naturalization 
was  established,  reducing  the  necessary  residence  of  aliens 
to  five  years  was  adopted  at  the  suggestion  of  the  President. 

The  foreign  relations  of  the  United  States  were  managed 
with  consummate  skill.  Difficulties  occurred  with  Spain  con- 
cerning the  southern  boundary.  That  monarchy  ceded 
Louisiana  to  France,  th«  government  of  which  refused  to 
allow  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  use  New  Orleans 
as  a  place  of  deposit.  War  was  anticipated.  The  opposition 
in  Congress  proposed  hostile  measures.  But  the  President 
resolved  to  pursue  a  pacific  policy.  On  the  10th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1803,  he  appointed  Jarnes  Monroe,  minister  plenipo- 
tentiary to  France  to  act  with  the  regular  minister,  Mr. 
Robert  F.  Livington,  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  The  com- 
mission was  entirely  successful,  Napolean,  the  first  consul, 
sold  the  important  territory  for  fifteen  millions  of  dollars. 
This  great  acquisition  was  a  deep  gratification  to  the  friends 
of  the  President.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  of  the  opinion  that  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  would  be  necessary  to  legal- 
ize the  territory  to  the  United  States ;  but  as  Congress  and 
the  people  appeared  satisfied  no  amendment  was  made.  The 
repeal  of  the  bankrupt  law,  an  amendment  to  the  constitu- 
tion, changing  the  mode  of  electing  the  President  and  Vice 
President,  and  the  sending  out  of  the  north-western  explor- 
ing expedition,  under  Lewis,  and  Clarke,  were  the  chief  mea- 
sures consummated  during  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 
first  presidential  term. 

At  the  election  in  1804,  Mr.  Jefferson  and  George  Clinton 
were  the  candidates  for  th^  republican  party,  and  Charbj 


72  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS 

Cotesworth  Pinckney  and  Rufus  King  were  brought  forward 
by  the  federalists.  The  result  was  the  triumph  of  Messrs. 
Jefferson  and  Clinton,  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  to  fourteen. 

In  his  second  inaugural  address,  delivered  March  4th, 
1805,  Mr.  Jefferson  exulted  in  the  success  which  had  attend- 
ed his  reform  measures.  But  the  gun-boat  system  which  he 
had  recommended  instead  of  a  navy,  had  entirely  failed  when 
put  into  practice  and  upon  this  his  political  foes  seized  to 
found  their  attacks  upon  his  new  administration.  Difficul- 
ties with  Spain,  France,  and  Great  Britain,  concerning 
boundaries  and  depredations  upon  commerce,  furnished  them 
with  more  material,  and  for  a  long  period,  their  orators 
were  active  and  violent  in  assailing  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment. In  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Pre- 
sident, Congress  passed  an  act  prohibiting  the  importation 
of  slaves  after  the  1st  of  January,  1808.  Messrs.  Monroe 
and  Pinckney  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  British  govern- 
ment, which  they  considered  highly  favorable  to  the  United 
States.  But  the  President  rejected  it,  and  even  refused  to 
send  it  to  the  senate.  This  course  excited  much  clamor 
among  the  federalists,  and  alienated  a  few  republicans ;  but 
the  sanction  of  the  majority  was  given  to  it.  The  refusal 
to  accept  this  treaty  was  a  primary  cause  of  the  embargo 
and  other  restrictive  measures,  and  tended  to  produce  that 
bitter  hostile  feeling  which  led  to  the  war  of  1812.  How- 
ever, the  British  government  had  from  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution, pursued  a  policy  calculated  to  irritate  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  The  gross  outrage  upon  the  frigate 
Chesapeake,  the  continued  impressment  of  the  American 
seamen,  and  the  seizure  of  American  vessels,  were  hostile 
movements  not  quietly  to  be  borne.  The  embargo  act, 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  73 

which  was  passed  by  Congress,  on  the  22d  of  December, 
1807,  was  the  first  movement  of  the  United  States  towards 
ictaliation.  But  it  weighed  heavily  upon  the  American 
commercial  community,  and  therefore  excited  violent  denun- 
ciation. The  ranks  of  the  federalists  were  much  strength- 
ened. But  a  majority  in  and  out  of  Congress,  sustained 
the  measures  of  the  President. 

The  election  for  successors  to  Messrs.  Jefferson  an:l 
Clinton  terminated  in  the  complete  triumph  of  the  republi- 
can party.  James  Madison  was  elected  to  the  presidential 
chair,  and  George  Clinton  was  re-elected  to  the  vice  presi- 
dency. On  the  8th  of  November,  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  to 
both  houses  his  last  annual  message.  The  foreign  affairs 
of  the  country  were  in  a  critical  state,  and  at  home,  the 
embargo  pressed  heavily  upon  the  trading  community.  But 
when  Mr.  Jefferson  resigned  the  reins  of  government,  he 
was  assured  that  his  successor  would  carry  out  his  doctrine 
and  policy. 

After  waiting  to  witness  Mr.  Madison's  inauguration, 
Mr.  Jefferson  retired  to  his  favorite  Monticello,  (March  5th, 
1809.)  Here  he  lived  a  life  of  literary,  scientific,  and  agri- 
cultural delight,  surrounded  by  affectionate  friends,  and  oc- 
casionally visited  by  the  learned  from  abroad.  The  princi- 
pal object  in  which  he  took  an  interest,  in  his  latter  days, 
was  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  education  in  Virginia. 
The  University  of  Virginia  was  founded  through  his  instru- 
mentality in  1818,  he  acted  as  rector  from  the  time  of  its 
foundation  until  his  death.  In  his  old  age  his  pecuniary 
circumstances  became  embarrassed.  Congress  purchased 
his  library  for  thirty  thousand  dollars.  Still  he  remained 
deeply  in  debt.  In  1825,  he  asked  the  legislature  for  per- 
mission to  dispose  of  Monticello  by  lottery  to  prevent  its 


74  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

being  sacrificed  to  his  creditors.  The  requeste  was  granted. 
But  before  Mr.  Jefferson  could  take  advantage  of  this,  death 
overtook  him.  After  a  short  illness,  he  died  on  the  4th  of 
July,  1826,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  In  accord- 
ance with  his  own  request,  a  granite  obelisk  Avas  erected  over 
his  remains,  bearing  the  inscription : 

HERE   WAS   BURIED, 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 

AUTHOR    OF   THE   DECLARATION    OF   INDEPENDENCE, 

OF  THE    STATUTES   OF   VIRGINIA   FOR   RELIGIOUS   FREEDOM, 

AND  THE  FATHER  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA. 

This  inscription  shows  the  pure  and  noble  character  of  the 
fame  which  Thomas  Jefferson  desired.  We  have  mentioned 
that  his  illustrious  compatriot,  John  Adams,  expired  upon 
the  same  day.  The  partisan  opinions  of  these  great  cham- 
pions of  the  Revolution  were  forgotten  when  their  deaths 
were  knelled  over  the  land.  Their  mighty  and  glorious 
work  was  alone  re'membered,  and  the  most  eloquent  vied  in 
strewing  flowers  upon  the  tombs  of  the  noble  dead,  while 
the  people  came  to  keep  them  fresh  with  their  mourning 
tears. 

Mr.  Jefferson  maintained  an  extensive  correspondence 
through  life,  and  from  it  a  good  idea  of  his  character  and 
opinions  may  be  obtained. 

"  With  manners  eminently  winning,  sprightly,  graceful, 
gay,  he  had  a  readiness  and  a  fund  of  conversational  talent 
rarely  equalled.  There  was  a  charm  about  it  which  was 
scarcely  possible  to  resist.  He  possessed,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  that  instinctive  perception  of  what  is  propor  to  bi 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  75 

said,  and  what  will  please  the  hearer,  which  is  embodied  ir 
the  expressive  word  tact.  As  a  skilful  and  quick-sighted 
pilot  perceives,  at  a  glance,  the  rock  to  be  avoided,  the 
current  to  be  availed  of,  and  the  precise  moment  at  which 
to  change  the  direction  of  his  bark,  and  is  aile,  by  an  im- 
perceptible pressure  on  the  helm,  to  evade  each  new  danger, 
ind  pass  unharmed  through  the  narrowest  strait,  and  in  the 
most  threatening  rapids,  Jefferson  could,  in  an  instant,  and 
tnth  a  wonderful  ease  and  grace,  turn  the  course  of  conver- 
sation, even  with  the  most 'wary  and  inveterate  enemy,  so 
-as  to  avoid  irritation,  touch  his  weak  points,  and  all  but 
make  a  captive  of  him,  against  his  own  fixed  purpose.  In 
this,  the  most  useful  of  talents  to  a  politician,  he  was  all 
French  ;  there  was  none  of  the  straight-forward,  blundering 
honesty  of  John  Bull  about  him.  He  knew  exactly  what  to 
say,  and  how  to  say  it ;  and  he  said  it. 

"  Mr.  Jefferson's  voice  was  peculiar,  very  pleasant,  sel- 
dom raised  to  a  loud  tone,  and  his  words  came  '  trippingly 
off  his  tongue.'  His  step  was  light  and  elastic,  and  very 
rapid  for  a  man  of  his  gaunt  form  and  elongated  proportions. 
He  affected  republican  simplicity  of  drefis,  though  he  was 
always  neat  and  gentlemanly.  His  carriage  presented  the 
very  curious  and  unusual  contrast  of  a  rapid,  graceful 
movement  with  a  long,  awkward,  bony  frame.  His  sh^uiuers 
were  unusually  square,  his  neck  long  and  scrawny,  the  skin 
of  his  face  adust,  as  if  scorched,  and  of  a  brick-dust  red ; 
his  hair  foxy,  and  brushy  at  the  temples.  Once  seen,  he 
never  could  be  forgotten. 

"  He  received  company  as  if  their  visit  was  a  gratification 
to  him,  and  strangers  always  left  him  with  the  most  grate- 
ful recollections  of  the  man.  Affecting  popularity,  he  lost 
QO  opportunity  of  making  an  impression,  especially  on  the 


76  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

common  people.  In  this  he  was  like  Jackson :  and  the  suc- 
cess of  both  was  astonishing.  Jefferson,  it  is  true,  was,  in 
knowledge  and  mental  cultivation,  immeasurably  the  supe- 
rior: but  the  means  pursued  by  both  were  the  same,  and  it 
was  the  same  class  in  society  whose  indomitable  attach- 
ment made  both  so  mighty  at  the  polls.  His  mingling  DO 
much  with  this  portion  of  the  community,  especially  with 
mechanics,  had,  however,  a  double  object ;  it  was  not  merely, 
though  mainly,  for  the  sake  of  popularity ;  it  was  in  part, 
for  knowledge's  sake.  Few  men  possessed  a  more  inquir- 
ing mind,  or  a  greater  mass  of  various  information.  And 
he  sought,  in  all  who  approached  him,  the  means  of  increas- 
ing it.  He  would  talk  with  a  sea  captain  about  navigation, 
and  would  by  a  few  words  adroitly  spoken,  set  him  off  upon 
his  hobby  and  learn,  meanwhile  some  new  fact  or  facts 
which  had  fallen  under  the  mariner's  observation  in  his 
voyages.  He  would  talk  with  an  astronomer  about  astro- 
nomy, and  draw  from  him,  in  a  short  conversation,  what  it 
might  have  taken  long  to  dig  out  of  books.  He  was  not 
profound,  probably,  in  any  department  of  human  science, 
though  he  had  a  smattering  of  all.  He  used  often,  while 
President,  to  walk  down  to  the  navy  yard,  early  in  a  sum- 
mer's morning,  and  sitting  him  down  upon  an  anchor  or 
a  spar,  enter  in  a  familiar  conversation  with  the  surprised 
and  delighted  ship-wrights,  who  would  take  the  utmost  pains 
to  satisfy  his  inquiries.  '  There !'  would  cry  one  of  his 
political  opponents,  as  he  passed  by  and  noticed  the  group, 
'  see  the  demagogue !  There's  Long  Tom,  sinking  the 
dignity  of  his  station,  to  get  votes,  and  court  the  mob.' 

But  this  was  unfair ;  he  was  a  philosopher  investigating 
mind,  gratifying  its  leading  propensity  in  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge.  A  man  of  such  a  cast  would  naturally  be  cap 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  77 

tivated  jy  whatever  was  ingenious  and  new.  Had  be  been 
less  ana  bitious,  a  berth  in  the  patent  office  would  have  placed 
him  in  his  element.  You  could  in  no  way  more  certainly 
fix  his  attention  than  by  exhibiting,  and  explaining,  a  new 
machine ;  especially  if  connected  with  a  scientific  purpose.* 

The  following  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Jeiferson,  are  told  by  Mr. 
Stansbury,  in  his  "  Reminiscences  of  the  Presidents.,"  pub- 
lished in  Arthur's  Philadelphia  Home  Gazette. 

"  I  heard  John  Randolph  (who  hated  Jefferson,)  once  de- 
scribe, in  his  own  biting,  caustic  manner,  the  delight  ex- 
pressed by  him  in  a  new  model  for  the  mould-board  of 
a  plough.  It  was  called  '  the  mould-board  of  least  resist- 
ance ;'  and  the  inventor  had  gone*  into  a  very  profound  ma- 
thematical demonstration,  to  prove  that  it  deserved  its  name. 
Jefferson  listened  and  was  convinced;  and  deeming  it  a 
great  discovery,  recommended  it,  with  zeal,  to  all  his  agri- 
cultural friends.  The  Virginia  planters,  accordingly,  (who 
thought  every  thing  of  their  great  man  as  a  natural  philo 
sopher,)  agreed,  many  of  them,  to  take  this  new  '  mould- 
board  of  least  resistance.'  It  was  accordingly  cast,  and  for- 
warded to  their  farms  ;  when  lo  !  on  trial,  no  ordinary  team 
could  draw  it  through  the  soil. 

"  He  sometimes  figured  as  an  inventor,  himself,  and  on 
that  subject  let  me  relate  to  you  an  anecdote  which  vividly 
portrays  the  character  of  his  mind.  You  know  that  he  had 
perched  his  country  seat  on  a  mountain  height,  commanding 
a  magnificent  prospect,  but  exposed  to  the  sweep  of  wintry 
winds,  and  not  very  convenient  of  access.  Not  far  from 
Monticello,  and  within  the  bounds  of  his  estate,  was  a  soli 
tary  and  lofty  hill,  so  situated  as  to  be  exposed  to  the  blast 
of  t-wo  currents  of  wind,  coming  up  through  valleys  on  dif- 
*  A.  J.  Stansburj 


78  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ferent  sides  of  it.  Mr.  Jefferson  thought  this  would  be  an 
admirable  position  for  a  wind-mill ;  and  having  recen-tly  in 
vented  a  model  for  a  saw-mill  to  be  moved  by  vertical  sails, 
he  sent  for  an  engineer  and  submitted  it  to  his  judgment. 
The  man  of  professional  science  examined  his  plan,  and  lis- 
tened with  profound  attention  and  deference  to  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's exjlanations  of  it,  and  to  his  eloquent  illustration  of 
the  advantages  it  would  secure :  having  heard  him  through, 
and  being  asked  by  the  philosopher  '  what  he  thought  of  it?' 
he  replied  with  great  sincerity,  that  it  was  a  most  ingenious 
idea,  and  was  decidedly  the  best  plan  for  a  saw-mill  he  had 
ever  seen.  Jefferson  was  delighted ;  and  forthwith  entered 
into  a  written  agreement  *for  the  erection  of  such  a  mill  on 
the  neighboring  height.  The  work  went  travely  on ;  the 
inventor  very  frequently  mounting  his  horse,  and  riding 
over  to  see  how  it  proceeded.  When  the  frame  was  up,  and 
the  building  approaching  its  completion,  the  engineer  rodo 
over  to  Monticello  to  obtain  a  supply  of  money,  and  to  get 
some  directions  about  the  saws.  Jefferson  kept  him  to  din- 
ner ;  and  when  the  cloth  was  removed  and  wine  sat  upon 
the  table,  he  turned  to  his  guest,  and  with  an  air  of  much 
satisfaction,  exclaimed, 

"  '  And  so,  Mr. ,  you  like  my  mill.' 

"  '  I  do,  sir,  indeed,  very  much ;  it  is  certainly  one  of  the 
greatest  improvements  in  the  construction  of  saw-mills  I  ever 
witnessed.' 

"  '  You  think  the  sails  are  so  hung  that  it  cannot  fail  to 
work?' 

"  '  Certainly ;  it  must  work,  it  cannot  help  it.' 

k' '  And  there's  always  a  wind  upon  that  hill ;  if  it  doea 
not  come  up  one  valley,  it  is  sure  to  come  up  the  other  ;  and 
the  hill  is  so  high  and  steep  that  there  is  nothing  to  inter- 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  79 

rupt  the  full  sweep  of  the  wind,  come  which  wz.y  i-t  wil). 
You  think  then,  on  the  whole,  that  the  thing  cannot  fail  of 
complete  success  ?' 

"  '  I  should  think  so,  sir,  but  for  one  thing.* 

"  '  Ah  !  What's  that  ?' 

"  '  I  have  been  wondering  in  my  own  mind,  how  you  are 
to  get  up  your  saw-logs.' 

"  Jefferson  threw  up  his  hands  anc7  eyes  :  '  I  never  thought 
of  that !'     The  mill  was  abandonee1  of  course." 

"  Jefferson's  favorite  exercise  WAS  riding ;  he  was  a  judge 
of  a  horse,  and  rode  a  very  good  one.  One  day,  during  his 
presidential  term,  he  was  riding  some  where  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Washington,  when  there  came  up  a  cross  road, 
a  well-known  jockey  and  dealer  in  horse-flesh,  whose  nam 
I  have  forgotten,  but  whom  we  will  call  Jones.  He  did  not 
know  the  President,  but  his  professional  eye  was  caught,  in 
a  moment,  by  the  noble  steed  he  rode.  Coming  up  with  an 
impudent  boldness  characteristic  of  the  man,  he  accosted 
the  rider,  and  forthwith  began  talking  in  the  slang  of  his 
trade,  about  the  horse,  his  points, 'his  age,  and  his  value, 
and  expressed  a  readiness  to  '  swap'  horses.  Mr.  Jefferson 
gave  him  brief  replies,  and  civilly  declined  all  offers  of  ex- 
change. The  fellow  offered  boot,  and  pressed  and  increased 
his  bids,  as  the  closer  he  looked  at  the  stranger's  steed,  the 
better  he  liked  him.  All  his  offers  were  refused  with  a  cool- 
ness that  nettled  him.  He  became  rude,  but  his  vulgarity 
made  as  little  impression  as  his  money,  for  Jefferson  had  the 
most  perfect  command  of  his  temper,  and  no  man  could  put 
him  in  a  passion.  The  jockey  wanted  him  to  show  the  ani- 
mal's gait,  and  urged  him  to  trot  with  him  for  a  wager.  At 
length,  seeing  that  the  stranger  was  no  customer,  and  ut-- 
terly  impracticable,  he  raised  his  whip  and  struck  Mr.  Jcf« 


80  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ferson's  horse  across  the  flank,  setting  him  off  in  a  sudden 
gallop,  which  would  have  brought  a  less  accomplished  rider  tc 
the  ground,  at  the  same  time  putting  spurs  to  his  own  beast, 
hoping  for  a  race.  Jefferson  kept  his  seat,  reined  in  his 
restive  steed,  and  put  an  equally  effective  rein  upon  his  owe 
temper.  The  jockey  wondered ;  but  impudently  turned  it 
off  with  a  laugh,  and  still  keeping  by  the  side  of  his  new 
acquaintance,  commenced  talking  politics,  and  being  a 
staunch  federalist,  commenced  to  launch  out  against  '  Long 
Tcm,'  and  the  policy  of  his  administration.  Jefferson  took 
his  part  in  the  conversation,  and  urged  some  things  in  reply. 

"Meanwhile  they  had  ridden  into  the  city,  and  were 
making  their  way  along  Pennsylvania  avenue,  and  at  length 
came  opposite  the  gate  of  the  presidential  mansion.  Here 
Mr.  Jefferson  reined  up,  and  courteously  invited  the  man  to 
enter.  The  jockey  raised  his  eye-brows,  and  asked — 

"  '  Why,  do  you  live  here  ?' 

"  '  Yes,'  was  the  simple  reply. 

"  '  Why,  stranger,  what  the  deuce  might  be  your  name  ?' 

"  '  My  name  is  Thomas  Jefferson.' 

"Even  the  jockey's  brass  turned  pale — when,  putting 
spur?  to  his  nag,  he  exclaimed — 

"  '  And  my  name  is  Richard  Jones,  and  I'm  off!' 

"  Saying  which,  he  dashed  up  the  avenue  at  double 
jmick  time,  while  the  President  looked  after  him  with  a 
smile,  and  then  rode  into  the  gate. 

"  He  was  fond  of  the  society  of  scientific  men,  and  had 
an  enlarged  and  just  appreciation  of  the  desirableness  and 
importance  of  introducing  as  many  of  them  as  practicable 
into  a  country  young  in  every  thing  but  industry,  enterprise, 
and  the  love  of  freedom.  It  was  at  his  solicitation  that  that 
paragon  of  learning,  and  proud,  eccentric  genius,  Hasler 


TIIOMAJ,  JEFFERSON.  81 

came  to  the  United  States.  His  attainments  in  mathemati- 
cal science,  and,  indeed,  his  wonderful  acquisitions  in  every 
department  of  human  knowledge,  rendered  him  an  invaluable 
acquisition  to  the  country.  To  the  same  source,  I  believe, 
we  owe  the  presence  with  us  of  the  late  lamented  and  ami- 
able Nicollet.  The  one  laid  the  foundations  for  our  admi- 
rable coast  survey,  while  the  other  prosecuted  in  the  same 
spirit  of  scientific  exactness,  an  exploration  of  the  interior 
around  our  great  lakes,  and  the  head  waiers  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Missouri.  Nicolet  was  the  preceptor  and  the  ex- 
emplar of  Fremont,  who  has  pushed  a  similar  system  cf 
enterprising  investigation  quite  across  the  entire  continent, 
and  who  seems  destined,  if  his  life  shall  be  spared,  to  render 
other  like  services  to  the  country  and  the  world." 

Mr.  Biddle  in  his  eulogy  on  Mr.  Jefferson  has  ventured 
to  draw  a  comparison  between  that  illustrious  man  and  Na- 
poleon as  follows  :  "  In  the  bearings  of  his  personal  character 
Jefferson  can  safely  be  compared  with  the  contemporary 
rulers  of  nations,  not  excepting  him — the  greatest  of  them 
all ;  nor  need  our  patriotism  shrink  from  the  singular  con- 
trast between  two  men,  chiefs  for  nearly  >an  equal  period  of 
their  respective  countries,  and  models  of  their  different  spe- 
cies,— Napoleon,  the  emperor  of  a  great  nation — and  Jeffer- 
son, the  chief  magistrate  of  a  free  people. 

"  Of  that  extraordinary  being  it  is  fit  to  speak  with  the 
gentleness  due  to  misfortune.  Two  centuries  have  scarce 
sufficed  to  retrieve  the  fame  of  Cromwell  from  that  least 
expiable  of  crimes — his  success  over  a  feeble  and  profligate 
race,  more  fortunate  in  their  historian  than  their  history : 
and  the  memory  of  Napoleon  must  long  atone  equally  for 
his  elevation  and  reverses.  There  are  already  those  who 
disparage  his  genius,  as  if  this  were  not  to  humble  the  na- 


82  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tions  who  stood:  dismayed  before  it.  Great  talents,  varitd 
acquirements,  many  high  qualities,  enlightened  views  of  legis- 
lation and  domestic  policy,  it  were  bigotry  to  deny  to  Napo- 
leon. The  very  tide  of  his  conquests  over  less 'civilized  na- 
tions, deposited  in  receding  some  benefits  even  to  the  van- 
quished— and  all  that  glory  can  contribute  to  public  happi- 
ness, was  profusely  lavished  on  his  country.  But  in  the 
midst  of  this  gaudy  infatuation  there  was  that  which  disen- 
chanted the  spell — that  which  struck  its  damp  chill  into  the 
heart  of  any  man  who,  undazzled  by  the  vulgar  decorations 
of  power,  looked  only  at  the  blessings  it  might  confer,  and 
who  weighed,  instead  of  counting,  these  victories.  Such  are 
the  delusions  which  military  ambition  sheds  in  turn  on  its 
possessor  and  on  the  world,  that  its  triumphs  begin  with  the 
thoughtless  applause  of  its  future  victims,  and  end  in  the 
maddening  intoxication  of  its  own  prosperity.  We  may  not 
wonder  then  if,  when  those  who  should  first  have  resisted 
his  power  were  foremost  in  admiration  and  servility — when 
the  whole  continent  of  Europe  was  one  submissive  depend- 
ence on  his  will — when  among  the  crowds  of  native  and 
stranger  suppliants  who  worshipped  before  this  idol  there 
was  only  one  manly  and  independent  voice  to  rebuke  hia 
excesses  in  a  tone  worthy  of  a  free  people — that  of  the  rep- 
resentative of  Jefferson,  we  may  not  wonder  if  all  the  bril- 
liant qualities  which  distinguished  the  youth  of  Napoleon 
were  at  least  concentered  into  a  spirit  of  intense  selfishness, 
and  that  the  whole  purpose  to  which  his  splendid  genius  was 
perverted  was  the  poor  love  of  swaying  the  destinies  of  other 
men — not  to  benefit,  not  to  bless — but  simply  to  command, 
to  engross  every  thing,  and  to  be  every  thing.  It  was  for 
Ibis  that  he  troubled  the  earth  with  his  insane  conquests,— 
for  this  thit  the  whole  freedom  of  the  human  mind—  the 


THOMAS  JEFFERSOW.  83 

elastic  vigor  of  the  intellect — all  the  natural  play  nf  the 
human  feelings — all  free  agency,  were  crushed  between  this 
fierce  and  immitigable  dominion,  which,  degrading  the  human 
race  into  mere  objects  and  instruments  of  slaughter,  wouM 
soon  have  left  nothing  to  science  but  to  contrive  the  means 
of  mutual  destruction,  and  nothing  to  letters  except  to  flatter 
the  common  destroyer.  Contrast  this  feverish  restlessness 
which  is  called  ambition — this  expanded  love  of  violence 
which  makes  heroes — contrast  these,  as  they  shone  in  the 
turbulent  existence  of  Napoleon,  with  the  peaceful  disinte- 
rested career  of  Jefferson :  and  in  all  the  relations  of  theii 
power — its  nature,  its  employment,  and  its  result — we  may 
assign  the  superiority  to  the  civil  magistrate. 

"  Napoleon  owed  his  elevation  to  military  violence — Jeffer 
son  to  the  voluntary  suffrage  of  his  country.  The  one  ruled 
sternly  over  reluctant  subjects — the  other  was  but  the  fore- 
most among  his  equals  who  respected  in  his  person  the  image 
of  their  own  authority.  Napoleon  sought  to  enlarge  his  in- 
fluence at  home  by  enfeebling  all  the  civil  institutions,  and 
abroad  by  invading  the  possessions  of  his  neighbors — Jeffer- 
son preferred  to  abridge  his  power  by  strict  constructions, 
and  his  counsels  were  uniformly  dissuasive  against  foreign 
wars.  Yet  the  personal  influence  of  Jefferson  was  far  more 
enviable,  for  he  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confidence  of  his 
country — while  Napoleon  had  no  authority  not  conceded  by 
fear ;  and  the  extortions  of  force  are  evil  substitutes  for  that 
most  fascinating  of  all  sway — the  ascendancy  over  equals. 
During  the  undisputed  possession  of  that  power,  Napoleon 
leemed  unconscious  of  its  noblest  attribute,  that  capacity  to 
nake  man  freer  or  happier ;  and  no  one  great  or  lofty  pur- 
pose of  benefitting  mankind,  no  generous  sympathy  for  his 
race,  ever  disturbed  that  sepulchral  selfishness,  or  appeased 


LIVES  OF  THE  PKESIDENTS. 

that  scjrn  of  humanity,  which  his  successes  almost  justified 
But  the  life  of  Jefferson  was  a  perpetual  devotion,  not  to 
his  own  purposes,  but  to  the  pure  and  noble  cause  of  public 
freedom-  From  the  first  dawning  of  his  youth,  his  undi- 
vided heart  was  given  to  the  establishment  of  free  princi- 
ples— free  institutions — freedom  in  all  its  varieties  of  un- 
trammelled thought  and  independent  action.  His  whole 
life  wab  consecrated  to  the  improvement  and  happiness  of 
his  fellow  men  ;  and  his  intense  enthusiasm  for  knowledge 
and  freedom  was  sustained  to  his  dying  hour.  Their  career 
was  as  strangely  different  in  its  close  as  in  its  character. 
The  power  of  Napoleon  was  won  by  the  sword — maintained 
by  the  sword — lost  by  the  sword.  That  colossal  empire 
which  he  had  exhausted  fortune  in  rearing  broke  before  the 
first  shock  of  adversity.  The  most  magnificently  gorgeous 
of  all  the  pageants  of  our  times — when  the  august  ceremo- 
nies of  religion  blessed  and  crowned  that  soldier-emperor, 
when  the  allegiance  of  the  great  captains  who  stood  by  his 
side,  the  applauses  of  assembled  France  in  the  presence  of 
assenting  Europe,  the  splendid  pomp  of  war  softened  by  tho 
smiles  of  beauty,  and  all  the  decorations  of  all  the  arts, 
blended  their  enchantments  as  that  imperial  train  swept  up 
the  aisles  of  Notre  Dame — faded  into  the  silent  cabin  of  that 
lone  island  in  a  distant  sea.  The  hundred  thousands  of 
soldiers  who  obeyed  his  voice — the  will  which  made  the  des- 
tiny of  men — the  name  whose  humblest  possessor  might  bo 
a  king — all  shrunk  into  the  feeble  band  who  followed  tho 
captivity  of  their  master.  Of  all  his  foreign  triumphs  not 
one  remained,  and  in  his  first  military  conquest — his  own 
country,  which  he  had  adorned  with  the  monuments  of  hia 
fame,  there  is  now  no  place  even  for  the  tomb  of  this  deso- 
late exile. — But  the  glory  of  Jefferson  became  even  purer 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  85 

as  the  progress  of  years  mellowed  into  vevemtion  tba  love 
of  his  countrymen.  He  died  in  the  midst  of  the  free  people 
whom  he  had  lived  to  serve ;  and  his  only  ceremonial,  wor- 
thy equally  of  him  and  of  them,  was  the  simple  sublimity 
of  his  funeral  triumph.  His  power  he  retained  as  long  as 
he  desired  it,  and  then  voluntarily  restored  the  trust,  with  a 
permanent  addition — derived  from  Napoleon  himself — far 
exceeding  the  widest  limits  of  the  French  empire — that  vic- 
tory of  peace  which  outweighs  all  the  conquests  of  Napoleon, 
as  one  line  of  the  declaration  of  independence  is  worth  all 
his  glory.  » 

"  But  he  also  is  now  gone.  The  genius,  the  various  learn- 
ing, the  private  virtues,  the  public  honors,  which  illustrated 
and  endeared  his  name,  are  gathered  into  the  tomb,  leaving 
to  him  only  the  fame,  and  to  us  only  the  remembrance  of 
them.  Be  that  memory  cherished  Avithout  regret  or  sorrow. 
Our  affection  could  hope  nothing  better  for  him  than  this 
long  career  of  glorious  and  happy  usefulness,  closed  before 
the  infirmities  of  age  had  impaired  its  lustre ;  and  the  grief 
that  such  a  man  is  dead,  may  be  well  assauged  by  the  proud 
consolation  that  such  a  man  has  lived." 

Mr.  Everett,  in  his  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jefferson,  makes 
the  following  remarks  upon  the  coincidence  of  their  dying 
upon  the  same  day,  and  that  day  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
rf  the  American  Independence. 

"  I  knew  these  great  men,  not  as  opponents,  but  as  friends 
to  each  other ;  not  in  the  keen  prosecution  of  a  political 
controversy,  but  in  the  cultivation  of  a  friendly  correspond- 
ence. As  they  respected  and  honored  each  other,  I  respect 
and  honor  both.  Time  too  has  removed  the  foundation  of 
their  dissensions.  The  principles  on  which  they  contended 
are  settled,  some  in  favor  of  one  and  some  in  favor  of  the 


86 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


other:  the  great  foreign  interests,  that  lent  ardor  to  the 
struggle  have  happily  lost  their  hold  of  the  American  people . 
and  the  politics  of  the  country  now  turn  on  questions  not 
agitated  in  their  days.  Meantime,  I  know  not  whether,  if 
we  had  it  in  our  power  to  choose  between  the  recollection 
of  these  revered  men,  as  they  were,  and  what  they  would 
hare  been  without  their  great  struggle,  we  could  wisL  them 
to  have  been  other  than  they  were,  even  in  this  respect. 
Twenty  years  of  friendship  succeeding  ten  of  rivalry  appear 
to  me  a  more  amiable  and  certainly  a  more  instructive  spec- 
tacle, even  than  a  life  of  unbroken  concert.  As  a  friend  to 
both  their  respected  memories,  I  would  not  willingly  spare 
the  attestation,  which  they  were  pleased  to  render  to  each 
other's  characters.  We  are  taught,  in  the  valedictory  lessons 
of  our  Washington,  that  '  the  spirit  of  party  is  the  worst 
enemy  of  a  popular  government ;'  shall  we  not  rejoice  that 
we  are  taught,  in  the  lives  of  our  Adams  and  our  Jefferson, 
that  the  most  embittered  contentions,  which  as  yet  have 
divided  us,  furnish  no  ground  for  lasting  disunion.  In  their 
lives  did  I  say  ?  Oh,  not  in  their  lives  alone,  but  in  that 
mysterious  and  lovely  union  which  has  called  them  together 
to  the  grave. 

'  They  strove  in  such  great  rivalry 
Of  means,  as  noblest  ends  allow ; 
And  blood  was  warm,  and  zeal  was  high, 
But  soon  their  strife  was  o'er  ;  and  now 
Their  hatred  and  their  love  are  lost, 
Their  envy  buried  in  the  dust.' 

"  The  declining  period  of  their  lives  presents  their  own 
characters,  in  the  most  delightful  aspect,  and  furnishes  the 
happiest  illustration  of  the  perfection  of  our  political  system. 
We  now  behold  a  new  spectacle  of  moral  sublimity ;  the 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  87 

peaceful  ol  i  age  of  the  retired  chiefs  of  the  republic ;  an 
evening  of  learned,  useful,  and  honored  leisure  following 
upon  a  youth  of  hazard,  a  manhood  of  service,  a 'whole  life 
of  alternate  trial  and  success.  We  behold  them  indeed  ac- 
tive and  untiring,  even  to  the  last.  At  the  advanced  ago 
of  eighty-five  years,  our  venerable  fellow  citizen  and  neigh- 
bor, is  still  competent  to  take  a  part  in  the  councils  for  re- 
vising the  state  constitution,  to  whose  original  formation 
forty  years  before  he  so  essentially  contributed ;  and  Mr. 
Jefferson,  at  the  same  protracted  term  of  life  was  able  to 
project  and  carry  on  to  their  completion,  the  extensive 
establishments  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

"  But  it  is  the  great  and  closing  scene,  which  appears,  by 
higher  allotment,  to  crown  their  long  and  exalted  career, 
with  a  consummation  almost  miraculous.  Having  done  so 
much  and  so  happily  for  themselves,  so  much  and  so  bene- 
ficially for  their  country ;  at  that  last  moment,  when  man 
can  no  more  do  any  thing  for  his  country  or  for  himself,  it 
pleased  a  kind  providence  to  take  their  existence  into  his 
hands,  and  to  do  that  for  both  of  them,  which,  to  the  end 
of  time,  will  cause  them  to  be  deemed,  not  more  happy  in 
the  renown  of  their  lives  than  in  the  opportunity  of  their 
death.* 

"  I  could  give  neither  force  nor  interest  to  the  account 
of  these  sublime  and  touching  scenes,  by  any  thing  beyond 
the  simple  recital  of  the  facts,  already  familiar  to  the  public. 
The  veil  of  eternity  was  first  lifted  up  from  before  the  eyes 
of  Mr.  Jefferson.  For  several  weeks  his  strength  had  been 
gradually  failing,  though  his  mind's  vigor  remained  unim- 
paired. As  he  drew  nearer  to  the  last,  and  no  expectation 
remained  that  his  term  could  be  much  protracted,  he  ex- 

*  Ta«\t  J.  Agricol.  Vit.  c.  XLV 


88 


LIVES  OF  THE  PKESIDEMTS. 


pressed  no  other  wish,  than  that  he  might  live  to  breathe 
the  air  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  independence.  This  he 
was  graciously  permitted  to  do.  But  it  was  evident,  on  the 
morning  of  the  fourth,  that  Providence  intended  that  this 
day,  consecrated  by  his  deed,  should  now  be  solemnized  by 
nis  death.  On  some  momentary  revival  of  his  wasting 
strength,  the  friends  around  would  have  soothed  him  with 
the  hope  of  continuing ;  but  he  answered  their  kind  encou- 
ragements only  by  saying,  he  did  not  fear  to  die.  Once, 
as  he  drew  nearer  to  his  close,  he  lifted  up  his  languid  head 
and  murmured  with  a  smile,  'It  is  the  fourth  of  July;' 
while  his  repeated  exclamation,  on  the  last  great  day,  was, 
Nunc  dimittis,  Dornine,  '  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace.'  He  departed  in  peace,  a  little  before  one 
o'clock  of  this  memorable  day ;  unconscious  that  his  co-pa- 
triot, who  fifty  years  before  had  shared  its  efforts  and  perils, 
was  now  the  partner  of  its  glory. 

"  Mr.  Adams's  mind  had  also  wandered  back,  over  the 
long  line  of  great  things,  with  which  his  life  was  filled,  and 
found  rest  on  the  thought  of  independence.  When  the  dis- 
charges of  artillery  proclaimed  the  triumphant  anniversary, 
he  pronounced  it,  '  a  great  and  a  good  day.'  The  thrilling 
word  of  independence,  which,  fifty  years  before,  in  the  ar- 
dpr  of  his  manly  strength  he  had  sounded  out  to  the  nations, 
at  the  head  of  his  country's  councils,  was  now  among  the 
last  that  dwelt  on  his  quivering  lips ;  and  when,  toward  the 
hour  of  noon,  he  felt  his  noble  heart  growing  cold  witliin 
him,  the  last  emotion  which  warmed  it  was,  '  Jefferson  still 
survives.'  But  he  survives  not ;  he  is  gone  :  Ye  are  gone 
together ! 

"  Take  them.  Great  God,  together  to  thy  Rest ! 

"  Friends,  fellow  citizens,  tree,  prosperous,  happy  Arne- 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  89 

ricans  !  The  men  who  did  so  much  to  make  you  so,  are  no 
more.  The  men  who  gave  nothing  to  pleasure  in  youth, 
nothing  to  repose  in  old  age,  but  all  to  that  country,  whose 
beloved  name  filled  their  hearts  as  it  does  ours,  with  joy, 
can  now  do  no  more  for  us ;  nor  we  for  them.  But  their 
memory  remains,  we  will  cherish  it:  their  bright  example 
remains,  we  will  strive  to  imitate  it ;  the  print  of  their  wise 
counsels  and  noble  acts  remain,  we  will  gratefully  enjoy  it. 

"  They  have  gone  to  the  companions  of  their  cares,  of 
their  dangers,  and  their  toils.  It  is  well  with  them.  The 
treasures  of  America  are  now  in  Heaven.  How  long  the 
list  of  our  good,  and  wise,  and  brave,  assembled  there ;  how 
few  remain  with  us.  There  is  our  Washington  ;  and  those 
who  followed  him  in  their  country's  confidence,  are  now  met 
together  with  him,  and  all  that  illustrious  company. 

"  The  faithful  marble  may  preserve  their  image ;  the 
engraven  brass  may  proclaim  their  worth  ;  but  the  humblest 
sod  of  independent  America,  with  nothing  but  the  dew- 
drops  of  the  morning  to  gild  it,  is  a  prouder  mausoleum 
than  kings  or  conquerors  can  boast.  The  country  is  their 
monument.  Its  independence  is  their  epitaph.  But  not  to 
their  country  is  their  praise  limited.  The  whole  earth  is 
the  monument  of  illustrious  men.  Wherever  an  agonizing 
people  shall  perish,  in  a  generous  convulsion,  for  want  of  a 
valiant  arm  and  a  fearless  heart,  they  will  cry,  in  the  last 
accents  of  despair,  Oh,  for  a  Washington,  an  Adams,  a  Jef- 
ferson. Wherever  a  regenerated  nation,  starting  up  in  ita 
might,  shall  burst  the  links  of  steel  that  enchain  it,  the 
praise  of  our  venerated  Fathers  shall  be  the  prelude  to  their 
triumphal  song. 

"  The  contemporary  and  successive  generations  of  men 
will  disappear.  In  the  long  lapse  of  ages,  the  Tribes  of 


90  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

America,  like  those  of  Greece  and  Rome,  may  pass  away 
The  fabric  of  American  freedom,  like  all  things  human, 
.however  firm  and  fair,  may  crumble  into  dust.  But  the 
cause  in  which  these  our  Fathers  shone  is  immortal.  They 
did  that,  to  which  no  age,  no  people  of  reasoning  men,  can 
be  indifferent.  Their  eulogy  will  be  uttered  in  other  Lan- 
guages, when  those  we  speak,  like  us  who  speak  them,  shall 
be  all  forgotten.  And  when  the  great  account  of  humanity 
shall  be  closed  at  the  throne  of  God,  in  the  bright  list  of 
his  children,  who  best  adorned  and  served  it,  shall  be 
found  the  names  of  our  Adams  and  of  our  Jefferson." 


JAMES  MADISON. 

"PEACE  hath  its  victories,"  says  Milton;  aye,  and  its 
conquerors,  too,  who  often  win  the  freshest  and  most  import- 
ant laurels.  There  are  men  who  overthrow  systematic 
abuses  with  the  invisible  hand  of  logic ;  who  conquer  the 
hearts  of  a  nation  by  a  speech,  and  who  not  only  throw 
down  false  idols  without  a  palpable  blow,  but  erect  the  true 
object  of  workmanship  in  their  stead.  The  achievements 
of  such  men  are  more  glorious  than  those  of  generals,  and 
thei)  works  are  frequently  the  most  complete.  The  brutal 
steel  may  slay  the  body,  but  cannot  persuade  the  heart  or 
convince  the  understanding,  without  both  of  which,  victories 
are  not  half-way  won.  He  who  gains  possession  of  the  heart 
and  mind  of  another,  holds  two  fertile  fields,  which'  may  give 
birth  to  a  thousand  noble  deeds. 

The  majority  of  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  have 
won  their  way  to  that  lofty  station  by  their  exploits  as  citi- 
zens and  legislators.  While  the  people  have  duly  rewarded 
those  noble  patriots  who  have  fought  and  bled  at  the  head 
of  their  armies  and  in  defence  of  their  soil,  they  have  been 
wise  enough  to  consider  that  even  greater  services  may  be 
rendered  them  in  civil  capacities.  Among  those  civilians  who 
have  by  legislative  service  won  their  way  to  that  throne 

91 


l^  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

which  no  revolution  can  threaten,  James  Madison  holds  a 
conspicuous  place.  To  him  was  given  the  great  title  of  the 
"  Father  of  the  Constitution,"  he  having  had  the  chief  hand 
in  framing  that  beneficial  charter,  and  in  procuring  its  adop- 
tion by  the  people  of  the  States.  As  a  political  writer,  a 
legislator  and  a  statesman,  posterity  has  given  him  a  lofty 
ineed  of  praise,  which  none  have  disputed  to  be  his  due. 

"  James  Madison  was  born  on  the  16th  of  March  1751,  at 
the  seat  of  his  maternal  grandmother,  on  the  Rappahannock 
river,  in  King  George  county,  Virginia.  His  father's  home 
was  at  Montpelier,  in  Orange  county,  in  the  same  state, 
where  Mr.  Madison  himself  afterwards  resided.  After  the 
usual  preparatory  studies,  first  at  a  school  kept  by  a  Scot- 
tish teacher,  of  the  name  of  Robertson,  in  King  and  Queen 
county,  and  then  with  a  private  tutor  in  his  own  family,  he 
was  sent,  in  1769,  to  the  college  at  Princeton,  in  New  Jer- 
sey, where  he  took  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  1772.  He  con- 
tinued, however,  at  Princeton,  until  the  following  spring, 
pursuing  a  course  of  reading  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  the  president  of  the  college,  for  whom  he  always 
entertained  a  high  respect,  and  whose  striking  remarks  he 
was  fond  gf  repeating.  His  devotion  to  his  mental  improve- 
ment, while  at  Princeton,  was  carried  to  such  an  extend, 
that,  as  he  stated  to  his  friend,  Governor  Barbour,  for  months 
together  he  had  allowed  himself  only  three  out  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours  for  sleep,  and  that,  when  necessity  compelled 
him  to  relax,  he  limited  his  hours  of  repose  to  the  least 
number  consistent  with  his  health.  This,  in  fact,  had  never 
been  strong,  and  was  so  impaired  by  the  excessive  study  just 
mentioned,  as  to  continue  froble  for  a  number  of  years 
afterwards. 

"  On  his  return  to  Virginia,  Mr.  Madison  commenced  a 


JAMES  MADISON. 

course  of  reading  to  prepare  himself  for  the  bar,  but  was 
soon  in  a  great  measure  diverted  from  it  by  the  interest 
which  he  took  in  the  agitating  political  questions  of  the  pe- 
riod. He  particularly  distinguished  himself  by  his  efforts 
in  behalf  of  the  clergy  of  the  Baptist  persuasion,  who  were 
then  persecuted  by  the  established  church,  and  occasionally 
even  thrown  into  prison  for  preaching  in  defiance  of  prohi-. 
bitory  laws.  In  the  spring  of  1776,  he  was  chosen  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  which  formed  the  first  constitution  of 
Virginia.  He  w»s,  in  the  same  year,  a  member  of  the  state 
legislature,  but  lost  his  election  in  the  following  year ;  partly 
too,  perhaps,  on  account  of  his  silence,  from  a  diffidence  in 
himself  and  a  respect  for  the  older  and  more  experienced 
members  of  the  legislature,  at  its  previous  session, — a  silence 
which  led  many  of  his  constituents  to  doubt  altogether  his 
capacity  to  speak  in  public.  The  legislature,  however, 
when  it  met,  named  him  a  member  of  the  executive  council, 
in  which  office  he  remained  until  appointed  a  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  He  took  his  seat  in  that  body,  in 
March,  1780,  and  acted  a  prominent  part  in  its  proceedings 
during  the  three  years  that  he  held  it. 

Among  the  services  which,  at  this  period,  he  rendered  to 
his  country,  we  may  mention  that  he  prepared  the  instruc- 
tions given  to  Mr.  Jay,  then  the  American  minister  in 
Spain,  in  October,  1780,  maintaining  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river ;  and  also 
the  address  to  the  states  at  the  end  of  the  war,  urging 
upon  them  to  adopt  some  plan,  to  enable  the  Confederacy  to 
meet  its  pecuniary  engagements  to  the  army  and  its  other 
creditors. 

In  1784,  1785,  and  1786,  he  was  again  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  legislature ;  and  his  efforts  at  this  time  were  all 


94:  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

exerted  in  favor  of  a  wise  and  liberal  policy.  He  drew  up 
the  memorial  and  remonstrance  against  the  project  of  a  com- 
pulsory support  of  religion,  which  was  perhaps  made  with  a 
view  to  a  permanent  establishment.  Finding  the  people  of 
Kentucky  fixed  in  their  determination  to  separate  from 
Virginia,  he  lent  his  aid  to  enable  them  to  accomplish  their 
purpose.  He  opposed  the  introduction  of  paper  money; 
supported  the  laws  introduced  into  the  code  prepared  by 
Jefferson,  Wythe,  and  Pendleton ;  and  was  in  favor  of  the 
recovery  of  the  debts  due  to  British  creditors. 

In  January,  1786,  Mr.  Madison  obtained  the  passage  of 
a  resolution  by  the  Legislature  inviting  the  meeting  at  An- 
napolis, which  led  the  way  to  the  convention  that  formed  the 
constitution  to  the  United  States :  and  he  was  one  of  the 
three  commissioners  appointed  at  the  meeting.  Mr.  Madi- 
son was  one  of  the  five  delegates  who  represented  Virginia 
in  that  convention. 

"In  the  convention,  Mr.  Madison  generally  coincided 
with  General  Washington  in  their  views  in  favor  of  a  strong 
national  government.  A  paper  in  the  handwriting  of  Ge- 
neral Washington,  and  found  among  the  documents  left  by 
him,  contains  a  summary  of  Mr.  Madison's  opinions  on  the 
subject  of  a  form  of  constitution  to  be  proposed.  It  is  the 
substance  of  a  letter  received  by  Washington  from  Mr. 
Madison,  a  short  time  previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  con- 
vention at  Philadelphia,  and  has  since  been  published  in  the 
North  American  Review,  volume  xxxv.,  as  follows:"* 

"  Mr.  Madison  thinks  an  individual  independence  of  the 
states  utterly  irreconcilable  with  their  aggregate  sovereignty, 
and  that  a  consolidation  of  the  whole  into  one  simple  repub- 
lic would  be  as  inexpedient  as  it  is  unattainable.     He  there 
*  Stateman'a  Manual. 


JAMES  MADISON.  '  95 

fore  proposes  a  middle  ground,  which  may  at  once  support 
a  due  supremacy  of  the  national  authority,  and  not  exclude 
the  local  authorities  -whenever  they  can  be  subordinately 
useful. 

"As  the  ground  work,  he  proposes  that  a  change  be  made 
in  the  principle  of  representation,  and  thinks  there  would 
be  no  great  difficulty  in  effecting  it. 

"Next,  that,  in  addition  to  the  present  federal  powers,  the 
national  government  should  be  armed  with  positive  and  com- 
plete authority  in  all  cases  which  require  uniformity ;  such 
as  regulation  of  trade,  including  the  right  of  taxing  both 
exports  and  imports,  the  fixing  the  terms  and  forms  of  natu- 
ralization, &c. 

"  Over  and  above  this  positive  power,  a  negative  in  all 
cases  whatever  on  the  legislative  acts  of  the  states,  as  here- 
tofore exercised  by  the  kingly  prerogative,  appears  to  him 
absolutely  necessary,  and  to  be  the  least  possible  encroach 
ment  on  the  state  jurisdictions.  Without  this  defensive 
power  he  conceives  that  every  positive  law  which  can  be 
given  on  paper,  will  be  evaded. 

"  This  control  over  the  laws  would  prevent  the  internal 
vicissitudes  of  state  policy,  and  the  aggressions  of  interested 
majorities. 

"  The  natural  supremacy  ought  also  to  be  extended,  he 
thinks,  to  the  judiciary  departments;  the  oaths  of  the  judges 
should  at  least  include  a  fidelity  to  the  general  as  well  aa 
local  constitution ;  and  that  an  appeal  should  be  to  some 
national  tribunal  in  all  cases  to  which  foreigners  or  inhabi- 
tants of  other  states  may  be  parties.  The  admiralty  juris- 
dictions to  fall  entirely  within  the  purview  of  the  national 
government. 

"  The  national  supremacy  in  the  executive  departments 


96  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

is  liable  to  some  difficulty,  unless  the  officers  administering 
them  could  be  made'appointable  by  the  supreme  government. 
The  militia  ought  entirely  to  he  placed,  in  some  form  or 
other,  under  the  authority  which  is  intrusted  with  thft 
general  protection  and  defence. 

"  A  government  composed  of  such  extensive  powers  should 
be  well  organized  and  balanced. 

"  The  legislative  department  might  be  divided  into  two 
branches,  one  of  them  chosen  every  —  years,  by  the  people 
at  large,  or  by  the  legislatures  ;  the  other  to  consist  of  fewer 
members,  and  to  hold  their  places  for  a  longer  term,  and  to 
go  out  in  such  rotatation  as  always  to  leave  in  office  a  large 
majority  of  old  members. 

"  Perhaps  the  negative  on  the  laws  might  be  most  conve- 
niently exercised  by  this  branch. 

"  As  a  further  check,  a  council  of  revision,  including  the 
great  ministerial  officers,  might  be  superadded. 

"  A  national  executive  must  also  be  provided.  He  has 
scarcely  ventured  as  yet  to  form  his  own  opinion,  either  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  ought  to  be  constituted,  or  of  the 
authorities  with  which  it  ought  to  be  clothed. 

"  An  article  should  be  inserted,  especially  guaranteeing 
the  tranquillity  of  the  states  against  internal  as  well  as 
external  dangers. 

"  In  like  manner,  the  right  of  coercion  should  be  expressly 
declared.  With  the  resources  of  commerce  in  hand,  the  na- 
tional administration  might  always  find  means  of  exerting  it 
either  by  sea  or  land ;  but  the  difficulty  and  awkwardness 
of  operating  by  force  on  the  collective  will  of  a  state,  render 
it  particularly  desirable  the  necessity  of  it  might  be  pre- 
cluded. Perhaps  the  negative  on  the  laws  might  create 
such  a  mutual  dependence  between  the  general  and  particular 


JAMES  MADISON.  97 

authorities  as  to  ansAver ;  or  perhaps  some  defined  objects 
of  taxation  might  be  submitted  along  with  commerce,  to  the 
general  authority. 

"  To  give  a  new  system  its  proper  validity  and  energy,  a 
ratification  must  be  obtained  from  the  people,  and  not  merely 
from  the  ordinary  authority  of  the  legislature.  This  will 
be  more  essential,  as  inroads  on  the  existing  constitutions 
of  the  states  will  be  unavoidable." 

Mr.  Madison  has  entitled  himself  to  the  gratitude  of  pos- 
terity by  the  record  which  he  daily  made  of  the  proceedings 
of  its  members,  the  only  one  extant  which  is  either  complete 
or  authentic.  It  was  purchased  by  Congress,  after  his  death, 
for  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  has  since  been 
published. 

After  the  constitution  was  formed,  he  united  with  Mr. 
Hamilton  and  Mr.  Jay,  in  the  the  publication,  in  the  news- 
papers, of  the  well-known  series  of  essays,  in  defence  of  its 
provisions,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Federalist,"  which  at- 
tracted in  an  extraordinary  degree  the  public  attention,  and 
by  the  ability  and  force  of  argument  with  which  they  were 
written,  contributed  materially  to  augment  the  number  of 
its  advocates.  And  when  the  Federal  Constitution  was 
submitted  to  the  several  states  for  their  adoption,  he  was 
mainly  instrumental,  in  the  convention  of  Virginia,  in  pro- 
curing a  decision  by  that  body  in  its  favor,  in  despite  of  the 
zealous  and  eloquent  opposition  of  Patrick  Henry. 

From  1789,  when  the  new  constitution  went  into  opera- 
tion, down  to  the  year  of  1797,  Mr.  Madison  occupied  a 
seat  in  Congress,  where  he  resisted  the  financial  measures 
proposed  by  Hamilton,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
and  the  policy  generally  of  Washington's  administration. 
llis  opposition,  was,  however,  conducted  in  such  a  spirit  as 


98  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

to  have  apparently  for  a  long  time  no  influence  on  the 
friendship  which  subsisted  between  the  President  and  him- 
self; and  it  never  produced  positive  alienation. 

In  1798,  though  not  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature, 
he  prepared  the  celebrated  resolutions  which  were  adopted 
by  that  body  denouncing  the  acts  of  Congress  for  removing 
dangerous  and  suspicious  aliens,  and  for  punishing  libels  on 
the  government,  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Alien 
and  Sedition  Laws,  as  infractions  of  the  Constitution,  and 
inviting  the  concurrence  of  the  other  states.  He  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  the  following  year,  when  he  was  the 
author  of  a  new  set  of  resolutions  of  similar  import  with  the 
former,  and  accompanied  them  by  a  report  in  their  vindica- 
tion, which  contributed  powerfully  to  the  triumph  that 
speedily  ensued  of  the  democratic  over  the  federal  party. 

When  Mr.  Jefferson  became  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  1801,  he  selected  Mr.  Madison  to  be  his  Secre- 
tary of  State,  a  position  which  the  latter  continued  to  occupy 
so  long  as  Mr.  Jefferson  remained  in  office.  In  1809,  Mr. 
Madison  succeeded  Mr.  Jefferson  in  the  presidential  chair, 
having  obtained  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  votes  out  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy-six. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  he  frankly  stated  the  gloomy 
circumstances  under  which  he  entered  upon  his  high  office. 
But  expressed  confidence  in  the  strength  and  resources  of 
the  United  States,  and  in  the  goodness  and  power  of  the 
Deity.  War  with  Great  Britain  was  anticipated.  The  in- 
Bults  and  injuries  which  that  haughty  power  had  given  to 
the  United  States  could  not  be  much  longer  borne,  con- 
sistently with  honor.  Still  a  large  portion  of  the  people 
were  anxious  for  the  preservation  of  peace.  And  the  new 
President  found  himself  in  a  trying  position.  In  his  mau- 


JAMES  MADISON.  .          J,<j 

gural  address,  he  thus  indicates  his  sentiments  and  inten 
tions.  "  To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  intercourse  -with  all 
nations  having  corresponding  dispositions  ;  to  maintain  sin- 
cere neutrality  towards  belligerent  nations ;  to  prefer  in  all 
cases  amicable  discussion  and  reasonable  accommodation  of 
differences  to  a  decision  of  them  by  an  appeal  to  arms ;  to 
exclude  foreign  intrigues  and  foreign  partialities,  so  degrad- 
ing to  all  countries,  and  so  baneful  to  free  ones;  to  foster  a 
epiiit  of  independence,  too  just  to  invade  the  rights  of  others, 
too  proud  to  surrender  our  own,  too  liberal  to  indulge  un- 
worthy prejudices  ourselves,  and  too  elevated  not  to  look 
down  upon  them  in  others ;  to  hold  the  union  of  the  states 
as  the  basis  of  their  peace  and  happiness ;  to  support  the 
constitution,  which  is  the  cement  of  the  Union,  as  well  in 
its  limitations  as  in  its  authorities ;  to  respect  the  rights 
and  authorities  reserved  to  the  states  and  the  people,  as 
equally  incorporated  with,  and  essential  to  the  success  of 
the  general  system  ;  to  avoid  the  slightest  interference  with 
the  rights  of  conscience  or  the  functions  of  religion,  so 
wisely  exempted  from  civil  jurisdiction  ;  to  preserve  in  their 
full  energy,  the  other  salutary  provisions  in  behalf  of  pri- 
vate and  personal  rights,  and  of  the  freedom  of  the  press ; 
to  observe  economy  in  public  expenditures ;  to  liberate  the 
public  resources  by  an  honorable  discharge  of  the  public 
debts ;  to  keep  within  the  requisite  limits  a  standing  mili- 
tary force,  always  remembering  that  an  armed  and  trained 
militia  is  the  firmest  bulwark  of  republics — that  without 
standing  armies  their  liberty  can  never  be  in  danger,  nor 
\vith  large  ones  safe ;  to  promote,  by  authorized  means,  im- 
provements friendly  to  agriculture,  to  manufactures,  and  to 
external  as  well  as  internal  commerce ;  to  favor,  in  like 
manner,  the  advancement  of  science  and  the  diffusion  of  in- 


100  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

formation  as  the  best  aliment  of  true  liberty ;  to  carry  on 
the  benevolent  plans  which  have  been  so  meritoriously  ap- 
plied to  the  conversion  of  our  aboriginal  neighbors  from  the 
degradation  and  wretchedness  of  savage  life,  to  a  participa- 
tion of  the  improvements  of  which  the  human  mind  and 
manners  are  susceptible  in  a  civilized  state ;  as  far  as  sen- 
timents and  intentions  such  as  these  can  aid  the  fulfilment 
of  my  duty,  they  will  be  a  resource  which  cannot  fail  me." 

Mr.  Madison  selected  for  his  cabinet,  Robert  Smith,  of 
Maryland,  as  Secretary  of  State  ;  William  Eustis,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, as  Secretary  of  War ;  Paul  Hamilton,  of  South 
Carolina,  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Mr.  Gallatin,  as  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury ;  and  Mr.  Cesar  A.  Rodney,  Attor- 
ney General,  under  Mr.  Jefferson,  were  continued  in  their 
offices.  The  republicans  had  a  majority  in  Congress  to  sup- 
port the  President. 

Efforts  were  made  to  settle  all  differences  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  a  just  and  friendly 
manner.  But  through  pride  or  misunderstanding,  they 
proved  abortive.  The  non-intercourse,  affecting  both  France 
and  Great  Britain,  was  continued  by  a  new  and  more 
stringent  act,  passed  in  May,  1810.  The  British  govern- 
ment continued  its  "orders  in  council,"  and  Napoleon  de- 
clared the  obnoxious  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  "  the  fun- 
damental laws  of  his  empire."  The  trade  and  revenue  of 
the  United  States  were  greatly  diminished  in  consequence 
of  these  hostile  measures. 

In  the  twelfth  Congress,  which  held  its  first  session  in 
1810-11,  the  supporters  of  the  administration  were  in  the 
majority.  Messrs.  Clay,  Calhoun,  Crawford,  Lowndes, 
Chcves,  and  other  active  and  eloquent  statesmen  were 
found  in  the  republican  ranks.  Under  the  influence  of 


JAMES  MADISON. 


101 


these  ardent  men,  the  policy  of  the  administration  was 
changed.  Measures  were  adopted  for  organizing  the  army 
and  na^y,  and  war  was  contemplated  as  a  very  probable  re- 
sult of  the  difficulties  then  existing.  President  Madison 
was  not  earnestly  desirous  for  the  decisive  measures ;  but 
he  was  persuaded  to  acquiesce  by  the  more  ardent  portion 
of  his  friends.  Mr.  Clay,  particularly,  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  country  should  be  prepared  for  war,  and  his  influence 
among  the  republicans  was  extensive. 

When  war  was  resolved  upon  by  the  republican  party, 
President  Madison's  cabinet  consisted  of  the  following  per- 
sons :  James  Monroe,  Secretary  of  State ;  Albert  Gallatin, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  William  Eustis,  Secretary  of 
War  ;  Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  and  William 
Pinckney,  Attorney  General.  Messrs.  Smith  and  Rodney 
had  resigned  their  posts  in  1811.  Of  this  cabinet,  Mr. 
Monroe,  alone,  possessed  any  amount  of  military  knowledge. 
The  President  knew  nothing  of  the  art  of  war.  Under 
such  auspices,  how  could  the  country  be  prepared  to  con- 
tend with  the  giant  power  of  Great  Britain. 

The  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain,  was  passed 
by  Congress,  in  June,  1812.  The  federalists  generally  op- 
posed it,  and  in  the  Eastern  States,  particularly,  the  mea- 
sure excited  a  spirit  of  disaffection  to  the  Union,  which, 
if  it  had  been  properly  treated  by  the  British  government, 
might  have  proved  fatal.  But  the  republicans  rallied  strongly 
to  the  support  of  the  President,  and  several  of  the  old  fede- 
ralist leaders  signified  their  approval  of  his  course.  The 
message  of  the  President  to  Congress  upon  the  subject  of 
the  declaration  of  war,  is  an  admirably  written  justification 
of  t^ie  country  and  himself.  It  ran  as  follows  : 

"  Without  going  back  beyond  the  renewal  in  1803,  of  the 


102  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

war  in  which  Great  Britain  is  engaged,  and  omitting  unre- 
paired wrongs  of  inferior  magnitude,  the  conduct  of  the  go- 
vernment presents  a  series  of  acts  hostile  to  the  United  States 
as  an  independent  and  neutral  nation. 

"  British  cruisers  have  been  in  the  continued  practice  of 
violating  the  American  flag  on  the  great  highway  of  nations, 
and  of  seizing  and  carrying  off  persons  sailing  under  it ;  not 
in  the  exercise  of  a  belligerent  right  founded  on  the  law  of 
nations  against  an  enemy,  but  of  a  municipal  prerogative  over 
British  subjects.  British  jurisdiction  is  thus  extended  to 
neutral  vessels  in  a  situation  where  no  laws  can  operate  but 
the  law  of  nations  and  the  laws  of  the  country  to  which  the 
vessels  belong  ;  and  a  self-redress  is  assumed,  which,  if  Bri- 
tish subjects  were  wrongfully  detained  and  alone  concerned,  is 
that  substitution  of  force,  for  a  resort  to  the  responsible 
sovereign,  which  falls  within  the  definition  of  war.  Could 
the  seizure  of  British  subjects,  in  such  cases,  be  regarded  as 
within  the  exercise  of  a  belligerent  right,  the  acknowledged 
laws  of  war,  which  forbid  an  article  of  captured  property  to 
be  adjudged  without  a  regular  investigation  before  a  compe- 
tent tribunal,  would  imperiously  demand  the  fairest  trial 
where  the  sacred  rights  of  persons  were  at  an  issue.  In  place 
of  such  a  trial,  these  rights  are  subjected  to  the  will  of  every 
petty  commander. 

"  The  practice,  hence,  is  so  far  from  affecting  British 
subjects  alone,  that,  under  the  pretext  of  searching  for  these, 
thousands  of  American  citizens,  under  the  safeguard  of  pub- 
lic law,  and  of  their  national  flag,  have  been  torn  from  their 
country,  and  from  every  thing  dear  to  them ;  have  beec 
dragged  on  board  ships  of  war  of  a  foreign  nation,  and  ex- 
posed under  the  severities  of  their  discipline,  to  be  exiled  to 
the  most  distant  and  deadly  climes,  to  risk  theL:  lives  in  the 


JAMES  MADISON.  103 

battles  of  their  oppressors,  and  to  be  the  melancholy  instru- 
ments of  taking  away  those  of  their  own  brethren. 

"  Against  this  crying  enormity,  which  Great  Britain  would 
be  so  prompt  to  avenge  if  committed  against  herself  the  Uni- 
ted States  have  in  vain  exhausted  remonstrances  and  expos- 
tulations. And  that  no  proof  might  be  wanting  of  their  con- 
ciliatory disposition,  and  no  pretext  left  for  a  continuance 
of  the  practice,  the  British  government  was  formally  assured 
of  the  readiness  of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  arrange- 
ments, such  as  could  not  be  rejected,  if  the  recovery  of  Bri- 
tish subjects  were  the  real  and  the  sole  object.  The  commu- 
nication passed  without  eifect. 

"  British  cruisers  have  also  been  in  the  practice  of  violat- 
ing the  rights  and  the  peace  of  our  coasts.  They  hover  over 
and  harass  our  entering  and  departing  commerce.  To  the 
most  insulting  pretensions  they  have  added  the  most  lawless 
proceedings  in  our  very  harbors  ;  and  have  wantonly  spilt 
American  blood,  within  the  sanctuary  of  our  territorial  juris 
diction.  The  principles  and  rules  enforced  by  that  nation, 
when  a  neutral  nation,  against  armed  vessels  of  belligerents 
hovering  near  her  coasts,  and  disturbing  her  commerce,  are 
well  known.  When  called  on,  nevertheless,  by  the  United 
States  to  punish  the  greater  offences  committed  by  her  own 
vessels,  her  government  has  bestowed  on  their  commanders 
additional  marks  of  honor  and  confidence. 

"  Under  pretended  blockades,  without  the  presence  of  an 
adequate  force,  and  sometimes  without  the  practicability  ot 
applying  one,  our  commerce  has  been  plundered  in  every 
sea  ;  the  great  staples  of  our  country  have  been  cut  off  from 
their  legitimate  markets ;  and  a  destructive  blow  aimed  at 
our  agricultural  and  maritime  interests.  In  aggravation  of 
these  predatory  measures,  they  have  been  considered  as  in 


104  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

force  from  the  dates  of  their  notification ;  a  retrospective 
effect  being  thus  added,  as  has  been  done  in  other  important 
cases,  to  the  unlawfulness  of  the  course  pursued.  And  to 
render  the  outrage  the  more  signal,  these  mock  blockades 
have  been  reiterated  and  enforced  in  the  face  of  official  com- 
munications from  the  British  government,  declaring,  as  the 
true  definition  of  a  legal  blockade,  '  that  particular  ports 
must  be  actually  invested,  and  previous  warning  given  to 
vessels  bound  to  them,  not  to  enter.' 

"  Not  content  with  these  occasional  expedients  for  laying 
waste  our  neutral  trade,  the  cabinet  of  Great  Britain  resorted, 
at  length,  to  the  sweeping  system  of  blockades,  under  the 
name  of  orders  in  council,  which  has  been  moulded  and  ma- 
naged, as  might  best  suit  its  political  views,  its  commercial 
jealousies,  or  the  avidity  of  British  cruisers. 

"  To  our  remonstrances  against  the  complicated  and  trans- 
cendent injustice  of  this  innovation,  the  first  reply  was,  that 
the  orders  were  reluctantly  adopted  by  Great  Britain  as  a 
necessary  retaliation  on  the  decrees  of  her  enemy,  proclaim- 
ing a  general  blockade  of  the  British  isles,  at  a  time  when 
the  naval  force  of  that  enemy  dared  not  issue  from  his  own 
ports.  She  was  reminded,  without  effect,  that  her  own  prior 
blockades,  unsupported  by  an  adequate  naval  force  actually 
applied  and  continued,  were  a  bar  to  this  plea ;  that  executed 
edicts  against  millions  of  our  property  could  not  be  retalia- 
tion on  edicts,  confessedly  impossible  to  be  executed ;  and 
that  retaliation,  to  be  just,  should  fall  on  the  party  setting 
the  guilty  example,  not  on  an  innocent  party,  which  was  not 
even  chargeable  with  an  acquiescence  in  it. 

"  When  deprived  of  this  flimsy  veil  for  a  prohibition  ol 
our  trade  with  her  enemy,  by  the  repeal  of  his  prohibition  ot 
•>ur  trade  witli  Great  Britain,  her  cabinet,  intead  of  a  corres 


JAMES  MADISON.  105 

ponding  repeal,  or  a  practical  discontinuance  of  its  orders, 
formally  avowed  a- determination  to  persist  in  them  against 
the  United  States,  until  the  markets  of  her  enemy  should  be 
laid  open  to  British  products  ;  thus  asserting  an  obligation 
on  a  neutral  power,  to  require  one  belligerent  to  encourage, 
by  its  internal  regulations,  the  trade  of  another  belligerent ; 
contradicting  her  own  practice  towards  all  nations,  in  peace 
as  well  as  in  war ;  and  betraying  the  insincerity  of  those 
professions  Avhich  inculcated  a  belief,  that,  having  resorted 
to  her  orders  with  regret,  she  was  anxious  to  find  an  occasion 
for  putting  an  end  to  them. 

"  Abandoning  still  more  all  respect  for  the  neutral  rights 
of  the  United  States,  and  for  its  own  inconsistency,  the  Bri- 
tish government  now  demands,  as  pre-requisite  to  a  repeal 
of  its  orders,  as  they  relate  to  the  United  States,  that  a  for- 
mality should  be  observed  in  the  repeal  of  the  French  de- 
crees, nowise  necessary  to  their  termination,  nor  exempli- 
fied by  British  usage ;  and  that  the  French  repeal,  besides 
including  that  portion  of  the  decrees  which  operate  within  a 
territorial  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  that  which  operates  on  the 
high  seas  against  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  should 
not  be  a  single  special  repeal,  in  relation  to  the  United 
States ;  but  should  be  extended  to  whatever  other  neutral 
nations  unconnected  with  them,  may  be  affected  by  those 
decrees.  And  as  an  additional  insult,  they  are  called  on 
for  a  formal  disavowal  of  conditions  and  pretentious  ad- 
vanced by  the  French  government,  for  which  the  United 
States  are  so  far  from  having  made  themselves  responsible, 
that,  in  official  explanations,  which  have  been  published  to  the 
world,  and  in  a  correspondence  of  the  American  minister  at 
London,  with  the  British  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  such  a 
responsibility  was  explicitly  and  empatically  disclaimed. 


106  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

"It  has  become,  indeed,  sufficiently  certain,  that  the  coin- 
oierce  of  the  United  States  is  to  be  sacrificed,  not  as  inter- 
fering with  the  belligerent  right  of  Great  Britain,  not  as 
supplying  the  wants  of  her  enemies,  which  she  herself  sup- 
plies, but  as  interfering  with  the  monopoly  which  she  covets 
for  her  own  commerce  and  navigation.  She  carries  on  a 
war  against  the  lawful  commerce  of  a  friend,  that  she  may 
the  better  carry  on  a  commerce  polluted  by  the  forgeries 
and  perjuries  which  are,  for  the  most  part,  the  only  pass- 
ports, by  which  it  can  succeed. 

"Anxious  to  make  every  experiment  short  cf  the  last  re- 
sort of  injured  nations,  the  United  States  have  withheld  from 
Great  Britain,  under  successive  modifications,  the  benefits 
of  a  free  intercourse  with  their  market,  the  loss  of  which 
could  not  but  outweigh  the  profits  accruing  from  her  restric- 
tions of  our  commerce  with  other  nations.  And  to  entitle 
these  experiments  to  the  more  favorable  consideration,  they 
were  so  framed  as  to  enable  her  to  place  her  adversary  under 
the  exclusive  operation  of  them.  To  these  appeals  her  go- 
vernment has  been  equally  inflexible,  as  if  to  make  sacrifices 
of  every  sort,  rather  than  yield  to  the  claims  of  justice,  or 
renounce  the  errors  of  a  false  pride.  Nay,  so  far  were  the 
attempts  carried,  to  overcome  the  attachment  of  the  British 
cabinet  to  its  unjust  edicts,  that  it  received  every  encourage- 
ment within  the  competency  of  the  executive  branch  of  our 
government,  to  expect,  that  a  repeal  of  them  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  France,  unless 
the  French  edicts  should  also  be  repealed.  Even  this  com- 
munication, although  silencing  for  ever  the  plea  of  a  dispo« 
sition  in  the  United  States  to  acquiesce  in  those  edicts, 
originally  the  sole  plea  for  them,  received  no  attention. 

"  If  no  other  proof  existed  of  a  predetermination  of  the 


JAMES  MADISON.  107 

Bntisl.  government  against  a  repeal  of  its  orders,  it  migh> 
be  found  in  the  correspondence  of  the  minister  plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  United  States  at  London,  and  the  British  sec- 
retary for  foreign  affairs,  in  1810,  on  the  question  whether 
;he  blockade  of  May,  1806,  was  considered  as  in  force  or  aa 
lot  in  force.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  the  French  go- 
rernment,  which  urged  this  blockade  as  the  ground  of  its 
Berlin  decree,  was  willing,  in  the  event  of  its  removal,  to 
•epeal  that  decree ;  which,  being  followed  by  alternate  re- 
)eals  of  the  other  offensive  edicts,  might  abolish  the  whole 
lystem  on  both  sides.  This  inviting  opportunity  for  accom- 
)lishing  an  object  so  important  to  the  United  States,  and 
)rofessed  so  often  to  be  the  desire  of  both  the  belligerents, 
vas  made  known  to  the  British  government.  As  that  go- 
rernment  admits,  that  an  actual  application  of  an  adequate 
'orce  is  necessary  to  the  existence  of  a  legal  blockade ;  and 
t  was  notorious,  that  if  such  a  force  had  ever  been  applied, 
ts  long  discontinuance  had  annulled  the  blockade  in  question 
here  could  be  no  sufficient  objection  on  the  part  of  Great 
Brkain,  to  a  formal  revocation  of  it ;  and  no  imaginable  ob- 
jection, to  a  declaration  of  the  fact,  that  the  blockade  did 
iot  exist.  The  declaration  would  have  been  consistent  with 
ler  avowed  principles  of  blockade,  and  would  have  enabled 
he  United  States  to  demand  from  France,  the  pledged  repeal 
tf  her  decrees ;  either  with  success,  in  which  case  the  way 
rould  have  been  opened  for  a  general  repeal  of  the  bel- 
igcrent  edicts  ;  or  without  success,  in  which  case  the  United 
States  would  have  been  justified  in  turning  their  measures 
sxclusively  against  France.  The  British  government  would, 
towever,  neither  rescind  the  blockade,  nor  declare  its  non- 
existence  ;  nor  permit  its  non-existence  to  be  inferred  and 
ffirmed  by  the  American  plenipotentiary.  On  the  contrary, 


108  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

by  repiescnting  the  blockade  to  be  comprehended  in  the 
orders  in  council, 'the  United  States  were  compelled  BO  to 
regard  it  in  their  subsequent  proceedings. 

"  There  was  a  period  when  a  favorable  change  in  the  po- 
licy of  the  British  cabinet,  was  justly  considered  as  esta- 
blished. The  minister  plenipotentiary  of  his  Britanic  ma- 
jesty here  proposed  an  adjustment  of  the  differences  more 
immediately  endangering  the  harmony  of  the  two  countries. 
The  proposition  was  accepted  with  a  promptitude  and  cor- 
diality corresponding  with  the  invariable  professions  of  this 
government.  A  foundation  appeared  to  be  laid  for  a  sincere 
and  lasting  reconciliation.  The  prospect,  however,  quickly 
vanquished ;  the  whole  proceeding  was  disavowed  by  the 
British  government,  without  any  explanations,  which  could 
at  that  time  repress  the  belief,  that  the  disavowal  proceeded 
from  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  commercial  rights  and  pros- 
perity of  the  United  States.  And  it  has  since  come  into 
proof,  that  at  the  very  moment,  when  the  public  minister 
was  holding  the  language  of  friendship  and  inspiring  confi- 
dence in  the  sincerity  of  the  negotiation  with  which  he  was 
charged,. a  secret  agent  of  his  government  was  employed  in 
intrigues,  having  for  their  object  a  subversion  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  a  dismemberment  of  our  happy  nation. 

"  In  reviewing  the  conduct  of  Great  Britian  towards  the 
United  States,  our  attention  is  necessarily  drawn  to  the  war- 
fare just  renewed  by  the  savages  on  one  of  our  extensive 
frontiers ;  a  warfare  which  is  known  to  spare  neither  age 
nor  sex,  and  to  be  distinguished  by  features  peculiarly 
shocking  to  humanity.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  ac- 
tivity and  combination  which  have  for  some  time  been  de- 
veloping themselves  among  the  tribes  in  the  constant  inter- 
?ourse  with  British  traders  and  garrisons,  without  connect- 


JAMES  MADISON.  109 

ing  their  hostility  with  that  influence  ;  and  without  recollect- 
ing the  authenticated  examples  of  such  interpositions  hereto- 
fore furnished  by  the  officers  and  agents  of  that  government. 

"  Such  is  the  spectacle  of  injuries  and  indignities  which 
have  been  heaped  on  our  country  ;  and  such  the  crisis  which 
its  unexampled  forbearance  and  conciliatory  efforts  have 
not  been  able  to  avert.  It  might  at  least  have  been  expected 
that  an  enlightened  nation,  if  less  urged  by  moral  obliga- 
tions, or  invited  by  friendly  dispositions  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  would  have  found,  in  its  true  interest  alone, 
a  sufficient  Liotive  to  respect  their  rights  and  their  tranquility 
on  the  high  seas  ;  that  an  enlarged  policy  would  have  favored 
that  free  and  general  circulation  of  commerce,  in  which  the 
British  nation  is  at  all  times  interested,  and  which  in  times 
of  war,  is  the  best  alleviation  of  its  calamities  to  herself  as 
well  as  the  other  belligerents  ;  and  more  especially  that  the 
British  cabinet  would  not,  for,  the  sake  of  the  precarious  and 
surreptitious  intercourse  with  hostile  markets,  have  perse- 
vered in  a  course  of  measures  which  necessarily  put  at  ha- 
zard the  valuable  market  of  a  great  and  growing  country, 
disposed  to  cultivate  the  mutual  advantages  of  an  active 
commerce. 

"  Our  councils  have  prevailed.  Our  moderation  and  con- 
ciliation have  had  no  other  effect  than  to  encourage  perse- 
verance, and  to  enlarge  pretensions.  We  behold  our  sea 
faring  citizens  still  the  daily  victims  of  lawless  violence  com- 
mitted on  the  great  common  and  highway  of  nations,  even 
within  sight  of  the  country  which  owes  them  protection. 
We  behold  our  •  vessels  freighted  with  the  products  of  our 
eoil  and  industry,  or  returning  with  the  honest  proceeds  of 
them,  wrested  from  their  lawful  destination,  confiscated  by 
prize  courts,  no  longer  the  organs  of  public  law,  but  the  in- 


110  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

struraents  of  arbitrary  edicts ;  and  their  unfortunate  crews 
dispersed  and  lost,  or  forced  or  inveigled,  in  British  ports, 
into  British  fleets :  whilst  arguments  are  employee  In  support 
of  these  aggressions,  which  have  no  foundation  but  in  a  prin- 
ciple supporting  equally  a  claim  to  regulate  our  external 
commerce  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

"  We  behold,  in  fine,  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain,  a  state 
of  war  against  the  United  States ;  and  on  the  side  of  the 
United  States,  a  state  of  peace  towards  Great  Britain. 

"  Whether  the  United  States  shall  continue  passive  under 
these  progressive  usurpations,  and  these  accumulating  wrongs; 
or,  opposing  force  to  force  in  defence  of  their  natural  rights, 
shall  commit  a  just  cause  into  the  hands  of  the  Almighty 
Disposer  of  events,  avoiding  all  connexions  which  might  en 
tangle  in  the  contests  or  views  of  other  powers,  and  preserv 
ing  a  readiness  to  concur  in  an  honorable  re-establishment 
of  peace  and  friendship,  is  a  solemn  question,  which  >"ie  con- 
stitution wisely  confides  to  the  legislative  department  of  the 
government.  In  recommending  it  to  their  early  deliberations, 
I  am  happy  in  the  assurance  of  that  decision  will  be  worthy 
the  enlightened  and  patriotic  councils  of  a  virtuous,  a  free, 
and  a^powerful  nation. 

"  Having  presented  this  view  of  the  relations  of  the  United 
States  with  Great  Britain,  and  of  the  solemn  alternative 
growing  out  of  them,  I  proceed  to  remark,  that  the  commu- 
nications last  made  to  Congress  on  the  subject  of  our  rela- 
tions with  France,  will  have  shown  that  since  the  revocation 
of  her  decrees,  as  they  violated  the  neutral  rights  of  the 
United  States,  her  government  has  authorized  illegal  cap- 
tures, by  its  privateers  and  public  ships,  and  that  other  out- 
rages have  been  practised  on  our  vessels  and  our  citizens 
Tt  will  have  been  seen  also,  that  no  indemnity  had  been  pro- 


JAMES  MADISON.  Ill 

vided,  or  satisfactorily  pl<  -aged,  for  the  extensive  spoliationa 
committe  i  under  the  vioL  nt  and  retrospective  orders  of  the 
French  government  against  the  property  of  our  citizens 
seized  within  the  jurisdiction  of  France.  I  abstain  at  this 
time  from  recommending  to  the  consideration  of  Congress 
definite  measures  with  respect  to  that  nation,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  the  result  of  the  undisclosed  discussions  between 
our  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Paris,  and  the  French  go- 
vernment, will  speedily  enable  Congress  to  decide,  with 
greater  advantage,  on  the  course  due  to  the  rights,  the 
interest,  and  the  honor  of  our  country." 

This  message  was  referred,  in  the  house  of  representatives, 
to  the  committee  on  foreign  relations.  After  a  serious 
consideration  of  its  contents,  they  reported  a  bill,  declaring 
war  between  the  united  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  and  their  dependencies,  and  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  their  territories,  accompanied  by  a  manifesto 
of  the  causes  that  impelled  to  war. 

A  full  history  of  this  three  years'  war  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  this  biography.  We  have  to  do  with 
President  Madison.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  he  erred 
in  his  first  measures — in  the  choice  of  war  ministers — in  the 
appointment  of  commanding  generals.  Perhaps,  all  the 
weakness  and  inefficiency  displayed  in  the  conduct  of  the 
first  campaign,  may  be  traced  to  the  bad  selection  of  a  war- 
minister.  Upon  land,  the  force  of  the  United  States  suf- 
fered defeat  and  disaster.  The  navy  maintained  the  honor, 
and  established  the  maritime  reputation  of  the  country. 
Hull,  Decatur,  Lawrence,  and  other  gallant  spirits  inflicted 
upon  the  enemy  at  sea,  what  they  gave  to  the  Americans 
on  la,nd. 

At  the  presidential  election  of  1812,  Mr.  Madison  was 


112  LIVES  bF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

again  a  candidate.  Elbridge  Gerry  was  on  the  same  ticket 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice  Presidency.  These  gentlemen 
were  opposed  by  De  Witt  Clinton  and  Jared  Ingersoll. 
The  electoral  vote  stood  as  follows : 

For  Madison,  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight ;  Gerry,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-one ;  Clinton,  eighty-nine ;  Ingersoll, 
eighty-six.  The  friends  of  the  administration  retained  a 
majority  in  Congress,  though  the  opposition  daily  increased 
in  strength,  On  the  4th  of  March,  Mr.  Madison  entered  upon 
his  second  inaugural  term.  Previous  to  this,  some  changes 
had  been  made  in  the  cabinet.  William  Jones  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, had  been  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  place 
of  Paul  Hamilton,  and  General  John  Armstong  had  been 
appointed  Secretary  of  War,  in  the  place  of  Doctor  Eustis. 
resigned. 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1813,  the  Russian  minister  com- 
municated to  the  American  government  an  offer  from  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  of  his  mediation  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  ;  and  on  the  llth,  the  President  accepted 
the  offer.  A  few  days  afterwards,  the  President  appointed 
Messrs.  Albert  Gallatin,  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  James  A. 
Bayard,  commissioners  or  envoys  to  treat  for  peace.  The 
British  government  rejected  the  offer  of  Russian  mediation 
but  signified  its  willingness  to  treat  directly  with  the  United 
States.  Ghent  was  the  place  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the 
commissioners,  In  the  meantime,  the  war  went  on.  Upon 
the  lakes  and  the  ocean,  the  Americans  were  astonishingly 
successful,  while  upon  land,  though  they  met  with  some  dis- 
asters, their  affairs  began  to  brighten. 

Henry  Clay  and  Jonathan  Russel  were  added  to  the  ne- 
gotiating envoys  in  January,  1814 ;  and  the  commissioners 
were  arranged  by  the  President  in  the  following  order 


JAMES  MADISON. 


113 


John  Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay,  Jona- 
than Russel,  and  Albert  Gallatin. 

During  the  year  1814,  the  war  was  prosecuted  with  vigor 
and  zeal  on  both  sides.  The  fall  of  Napoleon  left  Great 
Britain  at  liberty  to  direct  her  whole  strength  against  tho 
United  States,  and  a  large  number  of  the  veterans  of  Wei 
lington's  campaigns,  were  sent  over  to  Canada.  But  Brown, 
Scott,  Gaines,  Jackson,  and  Ripley,  were  now  at  the  head 
of  the  American  forces,  and  great  vigor  was  exerted  in  all 
parts  of  the  administration.  Confidence  in  the  army  waa 
revived,  and  the  triumphs  at  Niagara,  Plattsburg,  Baltimore, 
Fort  Erie,  and  New  Orleans,  conclusively  showed  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Americans  upon  their  own  soil.  Harrison,  by 
the  victory  of  the  Thames,  had  relieved  the  north-western 
frontier  from  the  depredations  and  atrocities  of  the  united 
British  and  Indians.  On  th'e  sea,  the  "  star-spangled  ban- 
ner" was  covered  with  the  glory  of  triumph. 

Several  changes  took  place  in  the  cabinet  in  1814  and 
1815.  George  W.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  was  appointed 
to  supply  the  place  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  in  October,  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Alexander  J.  Dallas.  In  September,  1814,  General 
Armstrong  resigned  the  post  of  Secretary  of  War.  Mr. 
Monroe  acted  as  the  head  of  that  department  until  the  1st 
of  August,  1815,  when  William  H.  Crawford  was  appointed, 
and  Mr.  Monroe  returned  to  the  duties  of  the  state  depart' 
ment.  Changes  were  also  made  in  the  subordinate  offices. 

While  Congress  was  passing  acts  for  the  vigorous  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  the  unexpected  and  welcome  intelligence 
of  peace  was  received  at  Washington,  early  in  February, 
1815.  A  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  was  concluded  by  the  commissioners  at  Ghent, 


114  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

on  the  24fch  of  Dectember,  1814,  about  a  fortnight  before 
the  British  were  repulsed  at  New  Orleans,  by  General  Jack- 
son. The  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  President  and  senate, 
and  was  the  occasion  of  sincere  and  universal  rejoicings. 
Early  in  1815,  Messrs.  Adams,  Gallatin,  and  Clay,  nego- 
tiated at  London,  a  satisfactory  commercial  treaty,  which 
completely  restored  friendly  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain. 

The  rest  of  President  Madison's  administration  was 
peaceable  and  beneficial  to  all  the  interests  of  the  country. 
The  want  of  a  uniform  national  currency  had  been  felt  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  a  national  bank,  with  a  capital  of  thirty- 
five  millions,  was  now  established  with  the  consent  of  the 
republican  party.  The  encouragement  of  American  manu- 
factures, by  the  regulation  of  the  tariff,  and  the  extinction 
of  the  national  debt,  were  the  objects  of  the  other  important 
measures  adopted  during  this  administration.  On  the  4th 
of  March,  1817,  Mr.  Madison  surrendered  the  Presidency 
to  his  friend,  Mr.  Monroe,  and  retired  to  his  seat  of  Mont- 
pelier,  in  Virginia. 

"  In  1829,  he  consented  to  become  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  met  at  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  revising 
the  constitution  of  his  state,  and  contributed  largely  in  seve- 
ral instances  to  effect  a  compromise  between  contending 
opinions  and  interests.  With  the  exception  only  of  the  two 
months  which  he  was  at  this  period  absent  from  home,  and 
his  occasional  visits  to  Charlottesville,  in  fulfilment  of  his 
duties  as  a  visitor,  and  subsequently  as  rector,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  it  is  stated  that  he  never  left  his  county 
after  he  quitted  Washington.  Although  he  lived  to  the  age 
of  eighty-five,  he  had  a  very  delicate  constitution,  and  never 
enjoyed  good  health.  He  died  on  the  28th  of  June  1 836. — 


JAMES  MADISON.  115 

In  his  domestic  relations  he  was  amiable  and  kind ;  and  in 
his  intercourse  with  his  friends,  his  conversational  powers 
rendered  him  an  instructive  and  entertaining  companion. 

As  a  writer  he  has  had  few  equals  among  American 
statesmen,  and  the  style  of  his  public  documents  and  his 
correspondence  have  been  much  admired.  He  was  an  able 
debater,  having  acquired  self-confidence  by  slow  degrees 
He  restored  the  custom  of  levees  at  the  presidential  mansion 
which  was  a  gratification  to  his  friends  and  strangers. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Madison  was  small  of  stature 
and  rather  protuberant  in  front.  His  countenance  wore  an 
expression  of  mingled  mildness,  dignity,  and  intelligence. 
lie  was  slow  and  deliberate  in  speech.  At  the  close  of  his 
last  presidential  term  he  seemed  care-worn  and  older  than 
he  was  in  fact.  He  was  bald  on  the  top  of  his  head,  wore 
his  hair  powdered,  and  usually  dressed  in  black.  His  learning 
was  ever  calculated  to  convey  an  idea  of  his  modest  merit. 
Mr.  A.  J.  Stansbury,  the  author  of  "  Reminiscences  of  Pub- 
lic Men,"  who  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Madison  and 
his  lady  gives  us  the  following  description  of  them  : 

"I  saw  Mr.  Madison,  for  the  first  time,  at  Richmond, 
where  he  attended  as  a  member  of  a  state  convention,  as- 
sembled in  1829,  for  the  revision  of  the  constitution  of 
Virginia.  You  may  imagine  the  intense  curiosity  with 
which  I  gazed  on  an  individual  so  illustrious.  Among  a  crowd 
of  gentlemen  who  entered  the  hall  of  the  old  house  of  bur- 
gesses, in  the  capital,  where  the  convention  was  about  to 
open,  I  saw  one,  of  lower  stature  than  any  of  his  compeers, 
Blender  and  delicate  in  form — dressed  in  a  suit  of  black, 
not  new,  and  now  dusty  from  travel,  with  a  hat  distinguished 
by  the  width  of  its  brim,  and  its  total  estrangement  from  the 
fashionable  block  of  the  day ;  in  aspect  grave,  yet  mild  ;  in 


116  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

air  arid  carriage"  perfectly  simple  and  unassuming;  of  li 
elastic  step,  and  possessing,  altogether,  what  may  be  called 
a  winning  address.  I  observed  that  he  was  approached  by 
every  one  with  an  instinctive  respect,  (though  not  with  that 
expression  of  awe  which  was  inspired  by  Washington,)  and 
I  soon  learned  from  every  mouth,  that  it  was  ex-President 
Madison.  Many  members  of  the  convention  then  saw  him, 
like  myself  for  the  first  time.  He  looked  to  me  like  a  gen- 
tleman farmer,  emerging  from  retirement,  to  give  his  vote 
at  some  important  election,  and  then  purposing  to  return 
home. 

"  He  met  his  friends  with  courtesy,  but  with  an  unmoved 
calmness  of  manner,  differing,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  from  that 
warmth  and  cordiality  which  usually  marks  the  intercourse 
of  Virginians,  and  Southern  people  generally.  Indeed, 
were  I  asked  to  point  out  Mr.  Madison's  distinguishing 
trait,  I  speak  of  his  constitutional  organization,  I  should 
say  it  was  this  very  quality  of  dignified  calmness.  His  tone 
of  mind  seemed  pleasant,  even  cheerful,  but  totally  undis- 
turbed— ever  self-possessed,  self-balanced.  Wherever  I  met 
him,  afterward,  this  original  impression  remained  unaltered. 
He  was,  in  all  situations,  gentlemanly,  modest,  retiring, 
and  for  so  distinguished  a  character,  more  silent  than  I  had 
expected.  He  never  assumed  the  lead  in  conversation,  and 
appeared  always  more  disposed  to  listen  than  to  speak.  No- 
thing can  be  conceived  more  remote  from  all  assumption  and 
display.  During  the  whole  duration  of  the  convention,  (and 
it  sat  for  sixteen  weeks,)  although  of  all  present,  he  was 
best  entitled  to  speak  on  subjects  such  as  those  which  occu- 
pied that  body,  he  spoke  but  twice.  When  he  did  speak, 
however,  the  effect  of  such  retiring  merit  was  at  once  ob- 
vious. While  other  members  of  the  body,  even  the  most 


JAMES  MADISON.  117 

distinguished  among  the  elite  of  Virginia,  were  listened  to 
with  respectful  attention,  but  without  any  special  outward 
demonstration  of  interest,  no  sooner  was  Mr.  Madison  upon 
his  feet,  than  there  was  in  one  moment  a  simultaneous  rush, 
from  every  part  of  the  hall ;  the  ordinary  decorum  of  the 
body  seemed  forgotten ;  regardless  of  all  obstacles,  every 
man  made  a  straight  line  to  the  spot,  and  he  was  at  once, 
so  completely  hemmed  in  by  the  crowd  that  pressed  around 
to  hear,  that  his  small  figure  could  scarce  be  seen.  There 
was,  indeed,  one  reason  for  this  movement  besides  the 
homage  which  his  character  commanded. 

"  His  voice,  never  very  strong,  was  then  very  slender,  even 
feeble,  (he  was  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,)  though  his  enun- 
ciation was  perfectly  distinct,  and  the  universal  eagerness 
not  to  lose  a  syllable  that  fell  from  him  may  have  quickened 
the  efforts  to  be  as  near  him  as  possible.  My  professional 
occupation  opened  an  avenue  to  me,  since  it  was  my  duty 
to  take  down  the  speech ;  but  such  was  the  interest  I  felt, 
in  common  with  all  around  me,  to  hear  the  speech,  that  it 
was  with  difficulty  I  could  prevent  my  attention  from  being 
drawn  from  my  task,  leaving 'me  a  listener  merely.  I  have 
still  the  MS.  notes  of  that  speech,  (the  last  he  ever  delivered) 
with  corrections  of  it  in  his  own  hand,  which  I  keep  with  a 
religious  feeling  of  veneration.  Connected  with  it  is  a 
little  anecdote,  characteristic  in  the  highest  degree  of  the 
meekness  of  wisdom  which  so  eminently  distinguished  the 
author  of  '  The  Federalist.'  When  I  had  finished  writing 
out  the  speech,  I  left  it  with  him  for  his  revision.  Next  day, 
as  there  was  a  great  call  for  it,  and  the  report  had  not  been 
returned  for  publication,  I  sent  my  son,  with  a  respectful 
note,  requesting  the  MS.  My  son  was  a  lad  of  about  six- 
teen, (whom  I  had  taken  with  m.e  to  act  as  an  amanuensis,) 


118  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  on  delivering  my  note  he  was  received  with  the  utmost 
politeness,  and  requested  to  come  up  in  Mr.  Madison's  cham- 
ber, and  wait  while  he  ran  his  eye  over  the  paper ;  as  com- 
pany had  till  that  moment  prevented  his  attending  to  it. 
He  did  so :  and  Mr.  Madison,  pen  in  hand,  sat  down  to  cor- 
rect the  report.  The  lad  stood  near  him,  so  that  his  eye 
fell  on  the  paper.  Coming  to  a  certain  sentence  in  the 
speech,  Mr.  Madison  struck  out  a  word,  and  substituted 
another :  but  hesitated,  and  not  feeling  quite  satisfied  with 
the  second  word,  drew  his  pen  through  it  also.  My  son  was 
/oung.  ignorant  of  the  world, 'and  unconscious  of  the  sole- 
cism of  which  he  was  about  to  be  guilty,  when,  in  all  his 
simplicity,  he  suggested  a  word.  Yes,  he  ventured,  boy  that 
he  was,  to  suggest  to  James  Madison  an  improvement  in 
his  own  speech  !  Probably  no  other  individual  then  living 
would  have  taken  such  a  liberty  !  But  the  sage,  instead  of 
regarding  the  intrusion  with  a  frown,  raised  his  eye  to  the 
boy's  face  with  pleased  surprise,  and  said,  '  thank  you,  sir — 
it  is  the  very  word  !'  and  immediately  inserted  it.  I  saw  him 
the  next  day,  and  he  mentioned  the  circumstance,  with  a 
compliment  on  the  young  criti'c. 

"  I  was  forcibly  struck,  while  discharging  my  daily  duty 
in  the  convention,  at  the  deportment  of  Mr.  Madison.  Punc- 
tual and  unfailing  in  his  attendance,  he  always  occupied  the 
same  seat,  and  I  do  not  think  that  in  the  hall  there  was  another 
individual  who  paid  as  uniform  and  unremitted  attention  to 
the  proceedings  of  the  body.  Whoever  occupied  the  floor, 
he  was  sure  of  at  least  one  attentive  listener.  John  Marshall 
himself,  did  not  listen  with  more  steadiness  and  condescen- 
sion to  the  argument  of  a  young  member  of  the  bar,  (and 
who  that  was  ever  a  young  member  there,  and  did  not  feel 
with  deepest  gratitude  that  admirable  trait  in  the  character 


JAMES  MADISON.  119 

of  tLe  great  jurist  ?)  than  did  Mr.  Madison  to  the  speeches, 
of  every  grade,  from  men  of  every  calibre,  on  subjects  of 
which  none  was  so  complete  a  master  as  himself.  Perhaps 
the  habit  might  have  been  formed  when  he  was  himself  a 
reporter  in  the  convention  which  formed  the  constitution 
A  reporter  is  a  listener  by  profession ;  he  is  attentive  pa1. 
'  force  ;  and,  happily,  in  this  case  as  in  every  other  of  invo- 
luntary and  long-continued  labor,  the  back,  by  a  merciftr 
Providence,  becomes  fitted  to  the  burden. 

"  At  Richmond  I  first  saw  Mrs.  Madison,  and  the  instant 
my  eye  fell  on  her  I  felt  that  I  was  looking  on  a  Queen. 
A  queen  she  was  ;  one  of  nature's  queens : — she  looked  the 
character ;  her  person,  carriage,  manners,  language,  would 
have  been  in  place  in  any,  the  most  polished,  Court  of 'Eu- 
rope. To  her,  Virgil's  immortal  words  applied  with  a  force 
that  struck  every  beholder :  '  Incedit  Regina.'  Her  per- 
son was  large  and  dignified,  yet  moved  with  easy  grace ; 
her  face  a  full  oval,  with  raised  features,  double  chin,  fine 
eyes,  and  a  mouth  dressed  in  the  most  winning  smiles.  It 
was  a  face  that  seemed  to  bid  you  welcome,  and  to  ask, 
*  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?'  Having  once  seen  her,  I  felt  no 
more  surprised  at  having  heard  of  her  from  a  boy ; — I  could 
credit  what  had  frequently  been  told  me  that  her  husband 
owed  much  of  the  success  of  his  administration  (so  far  as  its 
popularity  was  concerned,)  to  the  influence  of  his  wife.  Hei 
power  over  him  -was  great,  and  all  who  sought  preferment, 
promotion,  favors  of  any  kind,  addressed  themselves,  natu- 
rally, to  her,  as  the  readiest  and  surest  channel  of  access  to 
the  President.  A  corrupt  woman  might  have  enriched  her- 
self to  almost  any  extent,  by  the  use  of  such  a  power. 
Madison  himself  was  cold  and  shy,  and  a  timid  suitor  would 
often  have  met,  not  with  repulse,  but  with  a  polite  refusal ; 


120  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

but  to  Mrs.  Madison  anybody,  every  body  could  approach ; 
and  if  their  request  was  reasonable  and  such  as  a  lady  might 
urge  without  derogation  from  her  own  sense  of  propriety,  tliey 
might  count  upon  at  least  her  good  offices.  I  had  a  personal 
opportunity  of  witnessing  both  the  adroitness,  and  the  prev- 
alence, of  her  intercession.  A  gentleman  was  at  Richmond 
with  a  subscription  for  an  edition  of  the  American  Encyclo- 
poedia.  The  presence  of  so  numerous  an  assemblage  of  in- 
telligent men  presented  a  favorable  opportunity  for  prosecu- 
ting such  an  enterprise.  The  work  was  expensive,  and  its 
publishers  would  not  feel  warranted  to  enter  into  such  an  un- 
dertaking without  securing,  beforehand,  a  respectable  amount 
of  patronage.  The  gentleman  was  very  anxious,  and  his 
first -application  must,  of  course,  be  made  to  Mr.  Madison, 
that  name  alone  would  be  worth  to  him  more  than  a  hundred 
others.  With  such  a  name  at  the  head  of  his  list  he  could 
present  it  to  any  man  ;  without  it,  he  would  be  met  with  its 
absence  as  an  objection.  He  applied,  and  was  refused.  Mr. 
Madison  admitted  the  value  of  the  work,  complimented  the 
applicant  on  his  enterprise  in  undertaking  its  publication, 
wished  him  every  success,  but  pleading  his  own  restricted 
circumstances,  which  would  not  justify  him  in  incurring  the 
expense.  The  poor  man  came  to  me  in  great  dejection.  A 
refusal  from  such  a  source  took  the  wind  out  of  his  sails : 
it  would  justify  all  in  refusing  who  sought  an  excuse  to  do 
BO.  '  What  shall  I  do  ?'  said  he,  in  much  perplexity.  '  Have 
you  ever  read  the  book  of  Judges  ?'  said  I.  '  The  book  of 
Judges  !  Why  yes,  I  have  read  it ;  but  what  has  that  to  do 
with  my  subscription  list  ?'  '  More,  perhaps  than  you  think. 
Do  you  remember  how  the  Philistines  found  out  Samson's 
riddle ?  Do  you  recollect  what  he  told  them  ?  "If  you  had 
not  ploughed  with  my  heifer,  you  would  never  have  found  out 


JAMES  MADISON. 


121 


my  riddle."  Go  you,  and  try  the  same  plan.'  'You  are 
right ;  you're  right !  I'll  do  it.'  Next  day  he  came  into 
my  room  huzzaing — 'I  ploughed  with  the  heifer;'  and  see, 
here's  the  sign  manual.'  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  how  she 
did  it.  '  Why,'  replied  he,  '  she  brought  me  to  the  old  gen- 
tleman, and  told  him  of  how  much  importance  it  was  to  me 
to  get  his  name.'  '  Yes  my  dear,'  said  he,  '  I  am  aware  of 
that ;  but  you  know,  as  well  as  I,  that  our  circumstances  are 
not  such  as  to  warrant  me  in  incurring  so  heavy  an  expense. 
I  should  be  glad  to  aid  this  gentleman,  and  glad  to  possess 
the  work,  but  I  cannot  aiford  it.'  'I  know  that,  my  dear,' 
said  his  lady,  '  or  I  am  sure  you  would  give  this  gentleman 
your  name  to  help  his  list.  But  are  not  you  a  trustee  of 
.the  University  of  Virginia  ?  and  couldn't  you  take  his  book 
for  the  college  ?'  '  True,  true,  my  love ;  I  never  thought 
of  that,'  and  he  put  down  his  name.'  This  is  a  sample  of  the 
admirable  tact  with  which  she  could  carry  her  point. 

"  There  were  excellent  points  in  her  character.  She  was 
ever  a  friend  to  the  friendless.  Whenever,  in  the  drawing- 
room,  a  modest  individual  seemed  thrown  in  the  back  ground 
her  quick  eye  instantly  perceived  it ;  and  she  would  always 
contrive,  without  any  parade  of  condescension,  but  in  the 
most  easy  and  affectionate  manner,  by  a  kind  word,  a  kind 
look,  a  question,  or  some  other  of  those  nameless,  intangible, 
but  influential  courtesies  of  which  she  was  so  perfect  a  mis- 
tress, to  attract  attention  and  encouragement  toward  the  ob- 
ject of  her  kindness.  Nor  was  this  trait  in  her  disposition 
confined  to  mere  courtesy  of  manner ;  she  was  ever  ready 
to  confer  substantial  kindness  on  those  who  needed  it.  Mr. 
Catlin,  the  adventurous  delineator  of  Indian  life  and  manners, 
(a  man  as  distinguished  for  his  modest  simplicity  of  mind  as 
for  the  charm  of  his  pencil,)  once  related  to  me  this  anecdote. 


122  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

While  quite  a  young  man,  and  soon  after  his  marriage,  he 
was  in  Virginia,  in  the  vicinity  of  Mr.  Madison's  home,  en- 
deavoring to  earn  his  support  by  painting  portraits  ;  he  waa 
a  stranger,  and  in  narrow  circumstances,  having  taken  cheap 
board  at  a  private  house  in  the  country.  Here  his  young 
wife  was  taken  sick  with  the  intermittent  fever  so  common 
in  a  southern  climate,  and  confined  for  several  weeks  to  her 
bed.  It  was  a  desolate  situation  ;  the  necessary  comforts  of 
a  sick  chamber  were  hard  to  be  procured,  especially  by  a 
young  couple,  little  known  and  in  narrow  circumstances. — 
But  his  wife  had  not  been  sick  many  days,  before  a  lady,  of 
very  preposessing  appearance,  entered  her  chamber,  and  with 
a  graceful  apology  for  the  intrusion,  introduced  herself,  and 
begged  to  know  how  she  could  render  any  assistance ; — and 
then  laying  aside  her  bonnet  and  shawl,  she  sat  her  down  by 
the  bedside,  cheered  the  invalid  by  her  conversation  (which 
ever  flowed  like  a  gentle  and  abundant  river,)  mixed  and  ad- 
ministered her  medicines,  and  from  that  hour  continued  to 
nurse  her  like  a  sister,  till  she  was  quite  recovered.  It  was 
Mrs.  Madison. 

"  Another  beautiful  trait  in  her  character  was  her  fondness 
for  the  young.  No  one  could  have  seen  her  in  company  with 
young  ladies,  and  failed  to  be  struck  with  this  peculiarity. 
It  became  the  more  remarkable  as  she  advanced  in  years. — 
At  an  age  when  to  the  most  of  thope  who  reach  it  the  liveli- 
ness and  chatter  of  young  people  is  a  burden,  she  had  still 
the  same  fondness  for  their  company  ;  nor  was  there  a  kinder 
chaperone  to  be  found  in  introducing  and  encouraging  a 
bashful  young  girl  just  '  come  out.'  She  conciliated  their 
confidence  at  once,  and  in  a  large  and  mixed  company,  you 
would  always  find  a  bevy  of  youthful  faces  around  her,  sll 
pleasures  seemed  to  be  her  own. 


JAMES  MADISON.  123 

"In  almost  every  picture  of  Mrs.  Madison,  whether  minia- 
ture or  portrait,  she  is  drawn  with  a  turban ;  and  very  pro- 
perly ;  for  it  was,  I  believe,  her  constant  head  dress.  How- 
ever the  fashions  might  change,  and  however,  in  other  re- 
spects, she  conformed  to  them,  she  still  retained  this  pecu- 
liarity. It  became  her  well,  nor  could  she,  probably,  have 
laid  it  aside  for  anything  that  would  have  set  off  her  features 
to  better  advantage.  So  much  was  the  eye  accustomed  to 
see  it  that  it  became  in  fact,  a  part  of  her  figure.  It  was, 
to  her,  much  what  old  Frederick's  three  cornered  hat  was  to 
him ;  and  one  would  as  soon  expect  to  find  Mrs.  Madison 
without  her  turban,  as  the  Prussian  army  would  to  see  their 
king  without  his  hat.  She  rouged,  too,  very  freely;  nor 
did  she  lay  aside  her  turban,  her  rouge,  her  courtly  manners, 
cheerful  spirits,  or  her  fondness  for  company,  to  the  day 
of  her  death." 


JAMES  MONROE. 

TIIOSE  who  are  in  the  habit  of  regarding  quickness  of 
thought  and  brilliancy  of  expression  as  essentials  of  great- 
ness have  spoken  slightly  of  James  Monroe.  They  have 
wound  up  their  memoirs  of  him  with  some  grave  remarks 
upon  the  freaks  of  the  popular  will  and  the  fortune  of  some 
politicians.  But  he  who  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  the  great 
men  of  his  day,  who  was  employed  by  Presidents  of  various 
shades  of  opinion,  in  many  important  stations — who  rivalled 
Madison — whose  administration  was  so  successful  as  to  have 
the  unanimous  and  hearty  approbation  of  the  nation  could 
not  have  been  a  common  man — could  not  have  been  merely 
fortunate.  Firmness,  integrity,  patriotism,  foresight,  and 
great  capacity  for  labor — the  genuine  attribute  of  the  best 
rulers,  were  to  be  found  in  James  Monroe.  Diplomatic  and 
administrative  talents,  he  certainly  displayed.  If  he  lacked 
imagination  and  oratorical  powers,  so  did  Washington,  and 
many  of  the  best  statesmen,  whose  names  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  by  History,  have  been  more  eloquent  in  deeds  than 
in  words.  As  a  hero,  leaving  college  to  lead  the  van  at  Tren- 
ton— as  a  patriot,  pledging  his  private  estate  to  furnish  the 
means  for  defending  New  Orleans,  as  a  diplomatist  negotiat- 
ing for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  and  as  President,  carrying 

125 


126  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

into  effect  these  measure  most  agreeable  to  the  popular  will, 
James  Monroe  is  truly  worthy  of  the  highest  esteem. 

The  successor  of  Madison  was  born  on  the  2d  of  April",  1759, 
in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  Virginia.  The  family  of 
Monroe  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  honorable  in  Virginia. 
James  was  the  son  of  Spence  Monroe  and  Elizabeth  Jones. 
After  preparing  himself  by  a  course  of  elementary  study, 
he  entered  William  and  Mary  College.  But  the  war  of 
independence  began ;  and  the  country  had  great  need  of 
the  hearts  and  arms  of  all  her  sons.  James  Monroe  was 
but  eighteen  years  old  when  the  declaration  of  independence 
was  issued.  Yet  he  resolved  to  quit  the  college  and  join 
the  army  under  Washington.  The  British  general  was  pre- 
paring an  overwhelming  force  for  an  attack  upon  New  York. 
The  horizon  of  America  was  growing  gloomy.  The  timid 
were  shrinking  from  the  side  of  the  great  patriot  general. 
Monroe  joined  Washington  at  New  York.  During  the  dark 
period  of  seventy-six,  he  shared  with  the  patriots  in  their 
perils  and  privations.  He  participated  in  the  disastrous 
battles  of  Harlem  heights  and  White  Plains.  In  the  battle 
of  Trenton,  while  leading  the  vanguard  in  a  brave  and  suc- 
cessful assault  upon  the  enemy's  artillery,  he  received  a 
wound,  the  scar  of  which  he  carried  to  his  grave. 

After  he  recovered  from  his  wound,  Mr.  Monroe  was 
promoted  to  a  captaincy,  in  the  regular  service.  But,  during 
the  campaign  of  1777  and  1778,  he  acted  as  aid  to  Lord 
Stirling,  receding  from  the  line  of  promotion.  However, 
he  won  fresh  laurels  by  his  brave  bearing  at  Brandywine, 
Germantown,  and  Monmouth.  Desiring  to  regain  his  posi- 
tion in  the  line,  he  endeavored  to  raise  a  regiment  in  Vir- 
ginia, under  the  recommendation  of  General  Washington 
and  the  authority  of  the  legislature.  But  the  state  was  ex- 


JAMES  MONROE.  127 

hausted.  and.  men  could  not  be  induced  to  enlist.  Failing  to 
attain  his  aim,  Mr.  Monroe  then  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  the  law,  under  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  governor  of  Virginia.* 
But  be  afterwards  served  as  a  volunteer,  aiding  to  resist  the 
British  invasion  of  the  state. 

In  1782,  Mr.  Monroe  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  Vir- 
ginia legislature,  by  the  county  of  King  George.  He  was 
then  twenty-four  years  old ;  but  such  was  his  activity  and 
legislative  tact,  that  in  1783,  he  was  elected  by  the  legisla- 
ture, a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  Two  years' 
experience  in  that  body  convinced  him  that  its  powers  were 
insufficient  for  the  purposes  of  good  government,  and  he 
therefore  sought  to  extend  them.  In  1785,  he  made  a  mo- 
tion that  Congress  should  be  invested  with  the  power  to  regu- 
late trade.  This  motion  was  referred  to  a  committee,  of 
which  he  was  chairman.  Other  proposals  to  amend  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  were  made,  and  finally,  the  con- 
vention for  framing  a  constitution  was  the  result.  In  the 
meantime,  Mr.  Monroe  served  with  eight  other  highly  re- 
spectable men  of  the  period,  in  a  federal  court,  which  was 
to  decide  a  long  pending  controversy  between  New  York 
and  Massachusetts.  But  the  states  settled  the  matter  by 
mutual  agreement,  and  Mr.  Monroe  resigned  his  commission. 
While  in  New  York,  attending  the  Continental  Congress, 
Mr.  Monroe  married  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  daughter 
of  Mr.  L.  Kortright.  In  the  latter  part  of  1782,  his  term 
of  service  expired,  and  being  ineligible  for  a  second  term, 
he  retired  to  Fredericksburg  to  engage  in  the  practice  of 
the  law. 

But  the  times  and  the  Virginians  would  not  allow  talent 
co  remain  in  the  walks  of  public  life.  In  1787,  Mr.  Monroe 
*  Stateman's  Manual. 


128  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  following  year,  he 
was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention,  assembled  to 
decide  upon  the  federal  constitution.  In  that  body  were 
some  of  the  noblest  minds  in  the  country.  The  great  orator 
Patrick  Henry,  was  there  to  pour  forth  his  thunder  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  constitution,  while  Madison,  Pendleton  and 
Edmund  Randolph,  appeared  as  its  able  advocates.  Mr. 
Monroe,  though  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  a  radical  change 
in  the  general  government,  was  not  prepared  to  accept  the 
proposed  constitution,  without  certain  very  important  amend- 
ments. With  Patrick  Henry,  George  Mason  and  other  great 
men,  he  thought  the  power  committed  to  the  hands  of  the 
executive  would  overwhelm  the  liberties  of  the  people  and 
the  rights  of  the  states.  The  democratic  and  state  right 
doctrines  held  by  Mr.  Monroe  at  this  time  were  consistently 
maintained  throughout  his  political  career.  The  convention 
finally  adopted  the  constitution  as  it  was,  by  a  vote  of  eighty- 
nine  to  seventy-nine,  Mr.  Momoe  being  in  the  negative. 

The  majority  of  anti-federalists  were  elected  by  Virginia 
to  the  first  Congress.  On  the  death  of  William  Grayson, 
one  of  the  senators,  Mr.  Monroe  was  elected  to  supply  his 
place.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States 
in  1790.  During  the  four  years  that  he  held  that  station, 
he  opposed  the  administration  of  Washington,  and  arose  to 
high  esteem  among  the  republicans.  In  May,  1794,  Presi- 
dent Washington  appointed  Mr.  Monroe  minister  to  the 
French  republic,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Jef- 
ferson party.  He  was  cordially  received  in  France,  but  Lia 
course  while  there  was  not  conformable  to  the  policy  of 
Washington,  who  therefore  recalled  him  in  1796.  On  his 
return,  Mr.  Monroe  published  a  vindication  of  his  course 
of  action,  and  censured  the  administration.  He  was  then 


JAMES  MONROE.  129 

elected  to  the  Virginia  legislature,  and  in  1799  was  chosen 
by  that  body,  governor  of  the  state,  which  office  he  held  for 
the  limited  term  of  three  years. 

In  1803,  President  Jefferson,  anxious  for  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  appointed  Mr.  Monroe  envoy  extraordinary  to 
France,  to  act  jointly  with  4Mr.  Livingston,  the  resident 
minister.  A  fortnight  aftei1  his  arrival  in  France,  Mr.  Mon- 
roe succeeded  in  attaining  the  wished  for  object.  Mr.  Li- 
vingston, had  begun  to  despair  of  success ;  but  the  envoy 
extraordinary,  having  a  better  understanding  with  the  French 
government,  easily  conducted  the  negotiation  to  the  desired 
end.  This  achievement  did  great  honor  to  Mr.  Monroe's 
diplomatic  talents.  Shortly  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana, 
Mr.  Monroe  succeeded  Rufus  King  at  the  court  of  St.  James. 
At  this  time,  the  relations  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  were  anything  but  friendly.  In  1807,  Messrs- 
Monroe  and  Pinckney  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  treaty, 
which  they  considered  advantageous  to  the  United  States. 
But  President  Jefferson  refused  to  send  it  to  the  Senate,  he 
thought  it  clogged  with  inadmissible  conditions.  Mr.  Can- 
ning, the  British  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  refused  to  nego- 
tiate further,  and  therefore  the  mission  of  Monroe  and  Pinck- 
ney was  at  an  end.  Mr.  Monroe  was  somewhat  dissatisfied 
with  President  Jefferson  inconsequence  of  the  unceremonious 
treatment  of  the  result  of  the  laborious  negotiation  ;  but  the 
matter  was  explained  in  friendly  correspondence. 

It  was  thought  by  a  portion  of  the  republican  party  that 
Mr.  Monroe  should  succeed  Mr.  Jefferson  in  the  Presidency. 
But  the  majority  preferred  Mr.  Madison.  In  1811,  Mr. 
Monroe  was  again  elected  governor  of  Virginia,  which  sta- 
tion, lie  resigned,  however,  to  take  the  department  of  State, 
under  President  Madison.  After  the  capture  of  Washington 


130  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

City,  and  the  resignation  of  GeneraJ  Armstrong,  Mr.  Monroe 
was  appointed  to  the  war  department,  in  which  capacity  he 
displayed  an  energy,  boldness,  and  patriotism,  which  indica- 
ted the  latent  power  of  a  great  minister.  He  proposed  to 
increase  the  army  to  one  hundred  thousand  men,  and  to 
raise  troops  by  draught  from  tl^e  whole  number  of  able-bodied 
men.  This  measure  was  calculated  to  make  him  unpopular; 
he  knew  it ;  but  in  the  choice  between  what  he  considered  right 
and  popularity,  he  was  prepared  to  sacrifice  the  latter.  For- 
tunately the  return  of  peace  rendered  the  addition  to  the 
army  unnecessary.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1814,  his 
attention  was  called  to  the  defence  of  New  Orleans.  To 
raise  the  necessary  funds,  he  was  compelled  to  pledge  his 
private  credit,  as  subsidiary  to  that  of  the  government,  which 
was  at  a  low  ebb.*  By  this  patriotic  act,  Mr.  Monroe  was 
enabled  to  furnish  the  necessary  supplies.  The  triumph  of 
the  American  arms  at  New  Orleans  followed  and  the  war 
closed. 

Mr.  Monroe  now  returned  to  the  department  of  state,  and 
aided  Mr.  Madison  in  carrying  out  those  measures  which 
the  foreign  and  domestic  relations  of  the  government  de- 
manded. In  1816,  he  received  the  nomination  of  the  re- 
publican party,  for  the  Presidency.  He  was  elected  without 
difficulty.  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  of  New  York,  was  elected 
to  the  Vice  Presidency  at  the  same  time.  Messrs.  Monroe 
and  Tompkins  entered  upon  the  duties  of  their  offices  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1817. 

President  Monroe  determined  to  pursue  the  same  policj 
in  regard  to  appointments,  as  had  been  followed  }>y  Jeffer- 
son and  Madison.     Republicans  alone  were  to  be  cons1'  iered 
fit   for   office,   under   a   republican   administration.     John 
*  Stateman's  Manual. 


JAMEa  MONROE.  131 

Quincy  Adams,  of  MassachusettSj  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  State ;  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury ;  John  C.  Oalhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  Secre- 
tary of  War ;  and  William  Wirt,  of  Virginia,  Attorney 
General.  Benjamin  M.  Crowninshield  was  continued  in 
office  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  policy  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration  was  liberal 
and  satisfactory  to  all  parties.  In  many  of  its  features,  it 
resembled  that  of  Washington  and  Hamilton.  The  perfect- 
ing of  a  national  bank,  of  the  gradual  discharge  of  the  public 
debt,  of  the  system  of  fortifying  the  coast  and  increasing 
the  navy,  and  of  encouraging  by  adequate  protection  the 
manufactures  and  inventions  of  the  country,  were  the  chief 
aims  of  this  policy.  Mr.  Monroe  yielded  his  own  opinions 
to  those  of  the  majority  of  the  nation,  and  acquiesced  in  a 
system  of  internal  improvements,  but  not  until  near  the 
close  of  his  administration.  The  treaty  which  added  Flo- 
rida to  the  United  States  was  consummated  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  President.  In  1817,  he  made  a  tour  through 
a  large  portion  of  the  northern  and  middle  states,  inspect- 
ing the  various  public  works,  and  gaining  much  accurate  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  state  of  these  sections  of  the 
Union.  He  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  re- 
spect and  affection  on  the  part  of  the  people. 

In  1820,  Mr.  Monroe  was  re-elected  to  the  Presidency, 
receiving  every  vote  of  the  electoral  college  except  one.  In 
the  previous  year  he  made  a  tour  through  the  southern  and 
western  states,  where  he  was  received  with  the  same  cor- 
diality as  had  been  displayed  during  his  excursion  to  the 
north.  Mr.  Tornpkins  was  re-elected  to  the  Vice  Presidency 
by  a  very  large  majority.  The  administration  was  the  m«st 
popular  the  country  had  yet  known.  The  great  question 


132  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

before  the  C  ongress  at  the  session  of  1820-21,  was  upon 
the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union.  A  large  portion 
of  the  members  were  opposed  to  the  admission  of  any  more 
states,  by  whose  constitution  slavery  was  recognised,  and 
Missouri  came  within  this  category.  After  a  very  violent 
discussion,  the  question  was  settled  by  a  compromise,  pro- 
posed by  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  Missouri  was  to  be 
admitted  ;  but  slavery  was  to  be  for  ever  prohibited  in  the 
rest  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  lying  north  of 
thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty-six  minutes,  north  latitude. 

Many  important  acts  were  adopted  by  Congress,  during 
the  second  presidential  term  of  Mr.  Monroe.  But  we  have 
indicated  the  general  policy  of  the  administration,  and  the 
views  of  the  President,  and  it  is  beyond  our  Durpose  to  re- 
view congressional  measures.  All  the  candidates  proposed 
to  succeed  Mr.  Monroe  were  members  of  the  republican 
party.  They  were  William  H.  Crawford,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury ;  John  Quincy  Adams,  Secretary  of  State ;  John 
C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War ;  Henry  Clay,  and  General 
Andrew  Jackson.  The  vote  in  the  electoral  college  stood 
as  follows  : — For  Jackson,  ninety-nine  ;  Adams,  eighty-four ; 
Crawford,  forty-one  ;  Clay,  thirty-seven.  There  was,  con- 
sequently, no  choice  of  a  President  by  the  people.  John  C. 
Calhoun  was  elected  Vice  President,  receiving  one  hundred 
and  eighty-two  votes,  to  seventy-eight  for  all  others.  The 
election  from  the  three  highest  candidates  devolved  upon 
the  house  of  representatives.  That  body,  voting  by  states, 
elected  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  February,  1825.  It  was 
supposed  that  this  choice  was  agreeable  to  the  views  of  Mr. 
Monroe,  though  the  disappointed  candidates  were  his  friends. 

\t  the  close  of  this  vigorous  and  prosperous  administra- 
tion, on  the  3d  of  March,  1825,  Mr.  Monroe  retired  to  LM 


JAMES  MONROE.  138 

residence  in  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  where  he  was  shortly 
afterwards  appointed  a  county  magistrate,  and  curator  01 
the  University  of  Virginia. 

In  1829,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention 
called  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  state,  a  hody  of  which 
he  was  unanimously  chosen  president.  A  writer,  in  a  late 
number  of  the  "  Southern  Literary  Messenger,"  who  at- 
tended this  convention,  thus  speaks  of  the  part  played  by 
Mr.  Monroe. 

"  The  want  of  the  habit  of  public  speaking  was  very  con- 
spicuous in  several  of  the  older  members  of  the  Convention, 
and  in  none  more  than  in  Mr.  Monroe.  It  was  well  known 
that  he  was  never  a  very  eloquent  speaker ;  but  in  former 
days  his  speeches  were  said  to  be  remarkable  for  plain  com- 
mon sense,  expressed  in  clear  and  intelligible  language.  He 
had  lost  all  this,  no  doubt  from  long  disuse,  before  he  came 
to  the  convention.  His  ideas  appeared  to  be  confused,  his 
delivery  awkward,  his  manner  perplexed,  and  his  whole  de- 
meanor that  of  a  man  overwhelmed  by  the  magnitude  of  hia 
subject.  To  have  judged  from  his  speeches  on  the  floor,  one 
might  very  well  have  supposed  that  he  had  no  clear  percep- 
tions upon  any  subject,  and  that  he  had  not  mastered  the 
particular  one  upon  which  he  was  engaged  for  the  time  being. 

"  Yet  those  who  know  the  history  of  Mr.  Monroe,  are  well 
aware  that  such  was  not  the  character  of  his  mind.  He  was 
eminently  a  man  of  action  ;  he  saw  his  way  clearly  in  every 
difficulty,  political  or  diplomatic,  and  though  he  might  not 
be  able  to  point  it  out  to  others,  he  never  lost  it  himself.  In 
this  respect  he  resembled  the  English  statesman,  Castlereagh, 
who,  if  the  account  of  Lord  Brougham  is  to  be  credited,  was 
the  least  luminous  of  all  speakers  that  ever  addressed  the 
House  of  Commons.  He  formed  a  perfect  contrast  to  his 


134  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

great  rival  and  enemy,  Canning,  who  was  the  most  polished 
of  speakers,  the  most  attic  of  wits,  the  most  entertaining  of 
raconteurs.  Yet  when  the  time  of  action  came,  the  master- 
spirit developed  itself  at  once  in  Castlereagh.  He  managed 
the  helm  with  the  boldness  of  a  pilot  who  delighted  in  the 
excitement  of  tempest  and  danger,  while  his  more  eloquent 
adversary,  if  left  to  himself  in  the  hour  of  peril,  would  soon 
have  run  the  vessel  on  a  shoal,  or  have  caused  her  to  founder 
at  sea. 

"  Though  no  orator,  Mr.  Monroe  was,  nevertheless,  lis- 
tened to  with  great  respect  in  the  convention.  And  he  was 
entitled  to  be  thus  listened  to.  He  had  filled  the  highest 
offiees,  had  been  twice  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  had  conducted  one  of  the  most  successful  administrations 
the  country  had  ever  known.  In  spite  of  his  embarrassed 
manner,  and  awkward  delivery,  these  facts  denoted  him  to 
be  no  ordinary  man,  and  his  fame  had  already  been  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  accident." 

Before  the  adjournment  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Monroe 
was  compelled  by  indisposition,  to  retire.  In  the  succeed- 
ing summer,  he  took  up  his  abode  with  his  son-in-law,  Mr. 
Gouvernor,  in  New  York.  Here  he  died  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1831,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  was  the  third 
ex-president  who  died  upon  the  anniversary  of  the  nation'8 
independence.  Mrs.  Monroe  died  a  short  time  before  her 
husband. 

The  following  delineation  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Monroe, 
is  given  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Stansbury,  in  his  interesting  "  Remi 
niscences  of  Public  Men :" 

"  James  Monroe  was  a  gentleman ;  courteous,  frank,  dig- 
nified, accessible :  his  manner,  however,  had  more  of  the 
soldier  ir  it  than  the  civilian ;  he  differed  strongly  in  this 


JAMES   MONKOE.  135 

respect  from  each  of  the  Presidents  who  had  preceded  him. 
Washington  was  a  soldier,  it  is  true,  but  he  had  the  carriage 
and  bearing  of  a  monarch  in  the  field,  and  when  transferred 
to  the  cabinet  was  still  in  his  place.  Adams  was  an  En- 
glish, or  rather  a  New  England  gentleman,  and  had  the  air 
of  a  scholar,  accustomed  to  rank  and  deference.  Jefferson 
wasa  polished  French  philosopher,  courtier,and  man  of  the 
world.  Monroe  was  none  of  these,  but  had  the  look  and 
open  manner  of  one  who  had  long  been  in  camp,  had  read 
men  more  than  books,  and  who  silently  reflected  on  all  he 
saw.  Though  frank  in  manner,  he  could  keep  his  own 
counsel,  had  his  own  will,  and  while  he  respectfully  listened 
to  all  the  opinions  of  his  cabinet,  and  the  arguments  by 
which  they  were  supported,  made  up  his  own  mind,  and 
after  a  night's  reflection  came  prepared  to  declare  and  to 
abide  by  it.  The  composed  state  of  the  country,  quietly 
recuperating  as  it  was,  after  the  tumult  and  effort  of  the 
second  war  with  Great  Britain,  did  not  call  out  the  latent 
energies  of  the  man  ;  but  when  any  thing  did  occur  to  rouse 
them,  he  always  showed  a  spirit  and  vigor  of  mind  that 
sometimes  took  men  by  surprise. 

"  I  recollect  an  instance  of  this  that  is  highly  character- 
istic of  the  man.  He  had  issued  an  order  of  some  kind,  1 
forget  its  particular  nature,  to  Commodore  Porter,  while  on 
a  distant  station,  which  that  ardent  and  somewhat  inde- 
pendent officer  took  the  liberty,  for  reasons  deemed  by  him 
sufficient,  to  disregard.  When  the  despatch  came,  bearing 
this  intelligence,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  himself  waited 
on  the  President  to  communicate  it.  Monroe's  face  turned 
crimson  j  his  eyes  flashed  fire ;  and  starting  up  and  pacing 
the  room  he  exclaimed,  '  the  fellow !  does  he  dispute  my 
orders  ?  He  shall  fight  me  !  I'll  call  him  out  the  moment 


13(3  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

he  get"  home.'  There  spoke  out  the  man.  It  was  not  the 
President  of  the  United  States  which  spoke,  but  it  waa 
James  Monroe.  Taking  Porter's  conduct  as  a  persona] 
affront,  his  very  first  idea  was  to  call  him  to  the  field,  and 
make  him  abide  the  issue  at  the  pistol's  mouth.  A  curious 
interview  they  would  have  had  of  it,  had  not  the  prudence  of 
the  chief  magistrate  checked  the  fiery  ardor  of  the  soldier. 
Mcnroe's  public  conduct  was  eminent  for  prudence,  and 
always  marked  by  good  sense  ;  these  sketches,  and  a  careful 
estimate  of  what  was  due  to  his  position. 

"  Monroe  was  hospitable,  cheerful  among  his  friends,  and 
a  pleasant  table  companion.  He  had,  however,  no  powers 
of  anecdote ;  in  fact  he  had  but  one  story,  which  he  often 
told,  and  which  nobody  enjoyed  more  than  himself.  He 
had  a  black  servant  who  waited  upon  him,  and  who  was  a 
genuine  specimen  of  the  Virginia  negro.  On  one  occasion 
it  had  been  necessary  for  his  master  to  rise  very  early  in 
order  to  set  out  on  a  journey,  and  fearful  lest  he  should 
over-sleep  himself,  he  ordered  Tone  to  spread  his  pallet  by 
the  side  of  his  bed,  and  call  him  at  the  first  dawn  of  day. 
A  little  before  daylight  Mr.  Monroe's  anxiety  awoke  him 
without  foreign  aid,  while  poor  Tone's  nose  gave  unmistakable 
evidence  that  he  was  still  enjoying  that  deep,  untroubled  re- 
pose, which  God  has  given  to  be  the  solace  of  the  slave. 
Arousing  him  with  his  foot,  his  master  called  out : 

" '  Tone,  you  dog,  are  you  asleep  yet  ?  did  I  not  tell  you 
1,0  call  me  early  ?  get  up,  you  lazy  devil,  and  look  out,  and 
let  me  know  what  sort  of  a  morning  it  is.' 

"Tone  bandied  up,  and  blundering  through  the  chamber 
opened  a  door,  paused,  and  shutting  it  again,  came  to  his 
master's  bedside  and  reported, 

"Bery  dark  morning,  master,  and  smell  ob  cheese." 


JAMES  MONROE.  137 

"  Poor  sleepy  Tone  had  opened  the  door  into  a  pantry,  in 
stead  of  that  which  led  out  of  doors. 

"  President  Monroe  had  a  great  personal  respect  for  General 
Brown,  whose  bravery  on  the  frontier  had  done  so  much  for 
the  national  renown,  and  whose  painful  wound,  still  unhealed, 
rendered  him  an  object  of  much  and  deserved  sympathy  from 
his  countrymen.  The  general's  position,  as  commander-in- 
chief  brought  him  into  frequent  contact  with  the  President, 
and  as  brave  military  men  they  had  much  common  ground. 
Brown  too,  possessed  a  sound  penetrating  judgment,  and 
much  tact  in  the  knowledge  of  mankind.  Monroe  availed 
himself  often  of  his  advice,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  in- 
fluence thus  obtained  over  the  mind  of  the  President  was  at 
least  equal  to  that  of  any  of  his  cabinet.  Calhoun,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  was  fast  rising  into  distinction,  and  his 
eagle  eye  was  fixed  on  the  presidential  chair.  The  delicate 
operation  of  reducing  the  army  was  in  progress,  and  Brown's 
co-operation  was  important  both  to  him  and  his  superior. 
No  man  thought  more  highly  of  Monroe  than  he. 

"  The  presidential  mansion  felt  deeply  the  absence  of  Mrs. 
Madison.  She  had  given  it  its  charm,  her  smile  was  its  light, 
her  countenance  'the  Cynosure  of  neighboring  eyes,'  Mra. 
Monroe  was  entirely  a  different  woman.  In  miserable  health, 
averse  by  nature,  still  raore  averse  from  religious  principle, 
from  all  worldly  pomp  and  display,  she  lived  retired,  and 
never  appeared  in  the  drawing  room.  I  never  saw  her ;  but 
all  who  knew  her,  praised  her,  and  those  who  were  most 
intimate  with  her  loved  her  best." 


JOHN  QUINOY  ADAMS. 

A  LONG  career  of  public  usefulness,  great  capacity,  ex- 
tensive information,  and  a  spirit  of  lofty  patriotism  and  in- 
dependence, entitle  John  Quincy  Adams  to  the  lasting 
remembrance  of  his  countrymen.  That  his  father  had  filled 
the  presidential  chair  was  a  singular  distinction ;  but  it  was 
rather  a  drawback  than  an  aid  to  him  in  his  upward  course. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  have  ever  been  watchful 
foes  to  hereditary  office-holding,  and  even  the  rare  talents 
of  the  younger  'Adams  could  not  induce  them  to  give  a  cor- 
dial sanction  to  his  elevation  to  the  high  seat  which  his  fa- 
ther had  occupied.  When  that  honor  was  accorded  to  him, 
it  was  nothing  more  than  the  just  reward  of  his  individual 
merit. 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  born  in  Boston,  on  the  llth  of 
of  July,  1767.  His  father,  John  Adams,  was  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  the  law,  and  rapidly  rising  in  reputation. 
The  name  of  John  Quincy  was  derived  from  a  great  grand- 
father, who  had  been  a  man  of  note  in  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts, about  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  boyhood  of  the  younger  Adams  was  the  period  of  the 
revolution,  in  the  principles  of  which  he  was  baptized.  John 
Adams  and  his  worthy  wife  were  earnest  promoters  of  the 

139 


140  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

great  struggle.  Both  were  truly  patriotic.  During  his  first 
years,  Mrs.  Adams  herself  tuught  her  son  the  elements  of 
English.  John  Quincy  seems  to  have  been  very  quick  of 
comprehension.  When  only  nine  years  of  age,  he  wrote  to 
his  father  the  following  letter : 

Braintree,  June  2d,  1777. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  love  to  receive  letters  very  well ;  much  better  than  I 
love  to  write  them.  I  make  but  a  poor  figure  at  composi- 
tion. My  head  is  much  too  fickle.  My  thoughts  are  running 
after  bird's  eggs,  play,  and  trifles,  till  I  get  vexed  with  my- 
self. Mamma  has  a  troublesome  task  to  keep  me  a  study- 
ing. I  own  I  am  ashamed  of  myself.  I  have  just  entered 
the  third  volume  of  Rollin's  History,  but  designed  to  have 
got  half  through  it  by  this  time.  I  am  determined  this 
week  to  be  more  diligent.  Mr.  Thaxter  is  absent  at  Court 
I  have  set  myself  a  stint  this  week,  to  read  the  third  volume 
half  out.  If  I  can  but  keep  my  resolution,  I  may  again  at 
the  end  of  the  week  give  a  better  account  of  myself.  I  wish, 
sir,  you  would  give  me  in  writing,  some  instructions  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  my  time,  and  advise  me  how  to  propor- 
tion my  studies  and  play,  and  I  will  keep  them  by  me,  and 
endeavor  to  follow  them. 

With  the  present  determination  of  growing  better,  I  am, 
lear  sir,  your  son,  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

P.  S.  Sir — If  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  favor  me  with  a 
blank  book,  I  will  transcribe  the  most  remarkable  passages 
I  meet  with  in  my  reading,  which  will  serve  to  fix  them  upon 
my  mird."* 

•  Seward. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


In  1778,  John  Adams  was  appointed  to  fill  the  place  of 
S^las  Deane,  as  minister  to  the  court  of  Louis  Sixteenth, 
and  he  resolved  to  take  his  son,  then  eleven  years  old,  with 
him,  and  to  give  him  the  advantages  of  an  education  at  the 
Eur  pean  schools.     They  remained  in  Paris  about  a  year 
and  a  half,  during  which  time  John  Quincy  attended  a  public 
echool,  and,  in  his  leisure  hours,  derived  instruction  from 
the  conversation  of  his  father,  Dr.  Franklin,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished persons,  by  whom  he  was  much  loved  and  ad- 
mired.     His    rapid    progress  in  knowledge  was  observed 
with  great  delight  by  his  illustrious  father.     It  was  a  pre- 
cious object  to  John  Adams  that  his  son  should  be  a  good 
and  useful,  if  not  a  great,  man,  and  the  attention  which  he 
bestowed  upon  his  training,  was  as  constant  as  public  duties 
would  permit.     Father  and  son  returned  to  America.     But 
in  the  fall  of  1779,  John  Adams  was  appointed  minister  to 
the  court  of  St.  James,  and  he  again  crossed  the  Atlantic, 
taking  John  Quincy  with  him.     They  remained  at  Paris 
until  August,  1780.     John  Quincy  was  sent  to  an  academy, 
where  he  was  a  diligent  student. 

The  minister  then  repaired  to  Holland,  to  negotiate. 
While  in  that  country,  the  younger  Adams  was  placed  at 
school,  first  at  Amsterdam,  and  afterwards  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Leyden.  We  have  good  assurance  that  these  oppor- 
tunities for  acquiring  knowledge  were  not  neglected  by  John 
Quincy ;  for  in  July,  1781,  when  Francis  Dana  was  ap- 
pointed  minister  to  Russia,  the  younger  Adams,  though  but 
fourteen  years  old,  received  the  post  of  private  secretary  of 
the  mission.  He  remained  in  this  situation  fourteen  months, 
giving  perfect  satisfaction. 

3  He  returned  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Holland,  alone,— a 
good  evidence  of  his  self-confidence  and  knowledge.     On 


142 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


arriving  in  Holland,  he  resumed  his  studies  at  the  Hague 
But  he  was  present  at  Paris,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1783, 
when  peace  was  concluded  between  Great  Britain  on  the 
one  part,  and  France  and  the  United  States  on  the  other, 
when  the  independence  for  which  his  father  had  struggled 
was  recognised.  He  soon  afterwards  accompanied  his  father 
to  London,  where,  in  the  course  of  1784,  Mrs.  Adams 
joined  them.  While  at  the  British  metropolis,  John  Quincy 
A.dams  studied  English  literature,  and  had  frequent  oppor- 
tunities of  listening  to  the  great  orators,  Fox,  Pitt,  Burke, 
and  Sheridan.  Becoming  apprehensive  that  his  academic 
studies  were  being  too  much  neglected,  he  obtained  leave  to 
return  home  in  1785.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  entered 
Cambridge  University,  where  he  graduated  in  1788,  with 
high  honors. 

After  leaving  the  University,  young  Adams  went  to  New- 
buryport  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  under  the 
learned  Theophilus  Parsons.  Having  completed  the  usua. 
term  of  preparation,  he  was  admitted  to  practise,  at  Boston. 
For  three  or  four  years  he  was  nearly  briefless,  and  had  fre- 
quent cause  for  despondency.  But  circumstances  arose,  of 
which  he  skilfully  took  advantage  to  get  into  public  esteem. 
The  French  Revolution  was  differently  regarded  by  the  fede- 
ral and  republican  parties  which  upreared  their  heads  at  the 
commencement  of  Washington's  administration.  French 
political  ideas,  tending  to  overthrow  all  the  decent  restraints 
of  society  were  received  and  advocated  by  the  republicans, 
*vhlle  the  federalists  went  to  the  monarchical  extreme.  John 
Quincy  Adams  held  singular  views ;  and  in  1791,  he  pub- 
lished in  the  Boston  Gentinel,  a  series  of  articles,  signed 
Publicola,  in  which  he  discussed,  with  great  ability  and 
force  of  style,  the  wild  notions  of  the  French  political  writers. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  143 

These  articka  attracted  much  attention  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  They  were  republished  in  England,  and  admired 
by  Fox  and  Windham.  They  were  generally  attributed  to 
the  elder  Adams.  In  1793,  John  Quincy  Adams  published 
another  series  of  articles,  in  the  Boston  Centinel,  under  the 
signature  of  "  Marcellus,"  advocating  the  policy  of  neutrality 
for  the  United  States,  during  the  European  wars.  These 
papers  attracted  general  attention  and  had  the  desired  effect 
upon  the  public  mind.  Washington  read  them  with  deep 
satisfaction,  and  inquired  for  their  author.  The  policy  recom- 
mended was  in  opposition  to  popular  notions,  and  it  is  believed 
had  not  been  before  publicly  advocated  in  the  United  States. 
That  it  was  adopted  by  sage  statesmen  and  made  the  perma- 
nent guide  of  the  government,  was  a  brilliant  testimony  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  young  Adams.  The  next  public  appear- 
ance of  the  young  Boston  lawyer  was  in  a  series  of  essays, 
under  the  signature  of  "  Columbus,"  reviewing  the  violent 
course  of  Genet,  the  minister  from  the  French  republic  to  the 
United  States. 

These  important  writings  of  the  younger  Adams  brought 
him  prominently  before  the  public  and  won  for  him  the  high 
esteem  of  statesmen.  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
considered  them  full  of  the  brightest  promise.  He  recom- 
mended young  Adams  to  the  favor  of  President  Washington, 
as  one  fitted  for  diplomatic  service.  The  President  approved 
the  judgment  of  Jefferson,  and  in  May,  1794,  appointed  Mr. 
Adams  minister  of  the  United  States  at  the  Hague.  Thia 
was  as  gratifying  as  it  was  unexpected.  John  Quincy  Adams 
was  then  only  twenty-seven  years  old.  Seldom  has  so 
weighty  a  trust  been  placed  in  such  youthful  hands. 

Mr.  Adams  arrived  at  the  Hague,  in  the  summer  of  1791. 
The  affairs  of  Holland  were  in  confusion,  in  consequence  of 


144  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  French  invasion.  No  prospect  of  effecting  any  thing 
beneficial  to  the  United  States  appeared,  and  a  few  months 
after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Adams  thought  of  returning  home. 
President  Washington,  hearing  of  his  intention,  wrote  to  the 
Vice  President,  John  Adams,  expressing  the  hope  that  the 
young  minister  would  remain  at  his  post,  and  prophesying 
that  he  would  one  day  be  at  the  head  of  the  diplomatic  corps. 
This  high  approval  induced  John  Quincy  Adams  to  yield 
his  inclinations.  He  remained  abroad  at  the  Hague,  until 
near  the  close  of  Washington's  administration,  attentively 
studying  European  affairs,  and  watching  for  every  oppor- 
tunity of  advancing  the  interests  of  his  country. 

During  his  residence  at  the  Hague,  Mr.  Adams  had  occa- 
sion to  visit  London,  to  exchange  ratifications  of  a  treaty 
formed  with  Great  Britain  concerning  commerce.  While 
there,  he  formed  an  acquaintance  with  Miss  Louisa  Catha- 
rine Johnson,  daughter  of  Joshua  Johnson,  Esq.,  consular 
agent  of  the  United  States,  at  London.  This  acquaintance 
deepened  into  an  affection,  and  the  parties  Avere  married  on 
the  26th  of  July,  1797.  The  union  was  long  and  happy. 

In  1796,  the  elder  Adams  was  elevated  to  the  Presidency. 
The  course  to  be  pursued  towards  his  son  perplexed  the  dis- 
interested old  patriot.  He  consulted  Washington,  and  wa.s 
advised  by  that  great  man  not  to  withhold  merited  promotion 
from  John  Quincy  Adams  upon  any  consideration.  Wash- 
ington expressed  the  opinion  that  the  young  minister  waa 
the  most  valuable  public  character  abroad.  President  Adams 
then  appointed  his  son  minister  to  the  court  of  Berlin,  upon 
the  duti&3  of  which  office  he  entered  in  the  fall  of  1797. 

In  1798,  Mr.  Adams  was  commissioned  to  form  a  commer- 
cial treaty  with  Sweden.  While  in  Berlin,  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  many  eminent  German  scholars  and  poets, 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  145 

and  displayed  much  sympathy  with  their  pursuits.  To  per- 
fect his  knowledge  of  the  German  language,  Mr.  Adams 
made  a  niitrical  translation  of  Wieland's  "  Oberon,"  into 
the  English  language.  The  publication  of  this  work,  how- 
ever, was  forestalled  by  the  translation  made  by  William 
Sotheby. 

In  the  summer  of  1800,  Mr.  Adams  made  a  tour  through 
Silesia,  with  which  he  was  delighted.  His  impressions  dur- 
ing the  excursion  were  communicated  in  a  series  of  letters 
to  a  younger  brother  in  Philadelphia.  These,  without  their 
author's  knowledge,  were  published  in  the  United  States  and 
in  Europe.  The  information  contained  in  them  was  consi- 
dered very  valuable. 

Mr.  Adams  was  successful,  after  a  protracted  and  skilful 
negotiation,  in  forming  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  with 
Prussia,  The  penetration  and  vigilance  of  the  young  mini- 
ster were  fully  tried  in  the  contest  with  wily  and  veteran  diplo- 
matists, and  he  came  off  with  increased  reputation.  On  the 
4th  of  March,  1801,  John  Adams  was  succeeded,  as  Pmi- 
dent  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  One  of  the  last 
acts  of  the  elder  Adams  was  the  recall  of  his  son  from  Ber- 
lin, that  Mr.  Jefferson  might  not  be  perplexed  with  the 
matter. 

John  Quincy  Adams  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1801, 
He  was  no  partisan,  having  been  absent  from  the  country 
when  parties  were  formed.  His  talents  and  acquirements 
were  well  known,  and  he  was  not  allowed  to  remain  long  in 
inactivity.  In  1802,  he  was  elected  to  the  senate  of  Massa- 
chusetts from  the  Boston  district.  In  that  body  he  acted 
with  that  independent  and  fearless  spirit  which  was  ever  his 
great  characteristic.  Though  he  took  unpopular  sides  he  did 
not  lose  favor.  In  1803,  he  was  elected  to  the  senate  of  the 


146  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

United  States,  in  which  body  he  took  his  seat  when  but 
thirty-six  years  old. 

As  a  senator,  John  Quincy  Adams  soon  displayed  qualities 
noble  in  themselves,  but  calculated  to  render  him  unpopular 
with  the  federal  party,  by  whose  suffrage  he  had  been  elected. 
The  British  orders  in  council,  and  Napoleon's  Berlin  and 
Milan  decrees  threatoned  to  sweep  the  commerce  of  the 
United  States  from  the  seas.  Outrage  after  outrage  was 
committed  upon  American  vessels.  President  Jefferson  at 
length  resolved  upon  the  retaliatory  measure  known  as  the 
"Embargo."  (December,  1807.)  The  federal  party  stoutly 
opposed  this  Embargo,  and  it  was  expected  that  its  senators 
and  representatives  who  had  been  chosen  by  that  party, 
should  urge  its  repeal.  Mr.  Adams  thought  President  Jef- 
ferson's policy  just  and  expedient,  and  gave  it  his  sup- 
port. This  course  subjected  him  to  severe  and  bitter  cen- 
sure, and  he  was  charged  with  acting  from  every  motive  but 
the  true  one — a  desire  to  promote  the  honor  and  welfare  of 
the  Union.  The  legislature  of  Massachusetts  disapproved 
of  the  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  elected  another 
person  to  supply  his  place  at  the  expiration  of  his  term. 
Mr.  Adams  did  not  wish  to  represent  a  body  of  which  he  had 
lost  the  confidence,  and  he  therefore  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
senate,  March,  1808. 

The  reputation  of  Mr.  Adams  for  literary  acquirements, 
equaled  his  fame  as  a  statesman.  In  1804,  he  was  urged 
to  be  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  Cambridge  Univer- 
sity; but  he  declined  the  honor.  During  the  following 
^ear,  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and '  Bellea 
Lettres,  in  Ahe  same  institution.  This  office  he  accepted  on 
condition  tna*  its  duties  should  not  interfere  with  his  con- 
gressional services.  On  the  12th  of  June,  1806,  Mr.  Adams 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  147 

delivered  his  inaugural  address,  on  entering  the  professor- 
ship. His  lectures  on  rhetoric  and  eloquence  were  popular, 
and  attracted  great  crowds. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1809,  Mr.  Madison  began  hiH 
eventful  administration.  Having  a  proper  appreciation  of 
the  talents  and  experience  of  Mr.  Adams,  he  gave  him  the 
important  post  of  minister  to  Russia.  In  the  following 
summer,  Mr.  Adams  sailed  for  St.  Petersburg.  He  was 
received  with  many  marks  of  favor,  and  admitted  to  per- 
sonal intimacy  with  the  Emperor  Alexander.  During  his 
residence  in  Russia,  the  death  of  Judge  Gushing  caused  a 
vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States.  President  Madison  nominated  Mr.  Adams  to  thia 
high  office,  and  the  nomination  was  confirmed  by  the  senate. 
But  Mr.  Adams  declined  its  acceptance. 

While  sojourning  at  St.  Petersburg,  Mr.  Adams  wrote  a 
series  of  letters  to  his  son,  then  at  school  in  Massachusetts, 
on  the  value  of  the  Bible  and  the  benefit  resulting  from  its 
daily  perusal.  These  letters,  which  were  honorable  to  the  head 
and  heart  of  their  author,  have  been  published  since  his  de- 
cease. Mr.  Adams,  like  his  father,  had  faith  in  the  Unita- 
rian doctrines ;  but  was  a  practical  Christian,  and  never  let 
himself  be  swayed  by  sectarian  feeling. 

The  influence  obtained  by  the  American  minister,  at  the 
court  of  St.  Petersburg,  was  turned  to  the  best  account. 
The  Emperor  Alexander  was  induced  to  make  an  offer  of 
his  mediation  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
President  Madison  signified  his  acceptance  of  this  offer,  and 
appointed  Messrs.  Adams,  Bayard,  and  Gallatin,  to  conduct 
the  negotiation.  To  these  commissioners  were  afterwards 
added  Messrs.  Clay  and  Jlussel.  Great  Britain  refused  to 
treat  under  the  mediation  of  Russia,  but  proposed  to  nego- 


14:8  LIVE?.  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tiate  independently  with  the  United  States.  In  the  famous 
negotiations  at  Ghent,  in  1814,  Mr.  Adams  took  a  leading 
part,  and  contributed  much  to  bringing  about  a  good  under- 
standing between  the  hostile  countries,  as  well  as  to  the  vin- 
dication of  the  rights  of  his  nation.  The  conduct  of  the 
American  commissioners  was  eulogized  by  the  Marquis  of 
cf  Wellesley,  and  it  gave  great  satisfaction  in  the  United 
States. 

After  the  conclusion  of  their  labors  at  Ghent,  Messrs. 
Adams,  Gallatin,  and  Clay,  were  directed  to  proceed  to 
London,  and,  if  possible,  to  negotiate  a  commercial  treaty. 
This  was  accomplished  without  much  difficulty,  and  in  the 
meantime,  Mr.  Adams  was  appointed  minister  to  the  court 
of  St.  James — the  most  important  diplomatic  situation  at 
the  command  of  the  American  government. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1817,  Mr.  Monroe  succeeded  Mr. 
Madison  in  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  As 
Secretary  of  State,  he  had  possessed  the  best  opportunities 
for  observing  the  diplomatic  talents  and  great  political 
knowledge  manifested  by  Mr.  Adams  in  Europe,  and  he 
now  selected  that  gentleman  to  take  charge  of  the  depart- 
ment of  state.  Mr.  Adams  was  known  to  be  an  independent 
as  well  as  an  able  man.  Against  him  there  was  no  party 
rancor.  The  appointment  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the 
friends  of  the  President  and  the  people  generally. 

Mr.  Adams  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  6th  of  June, 
1817.  A  few  days  afterwards  a  public  dinner  was  given  him 
by  a  large  number  of  distinguished  citizens,  with  Governor 
De  Witt  Clinton  at  their  head.  Another  public  dinner 
was  given  him  upon  his  arrival  in  Boston,  at  which  his  vene- 
rable father,  ex-president  Adams,  was  present  as  a  guest. 

Entering  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  of  Secretary  of 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  149 

State,  in  September,  1817,  Mr.  Adams  acquitted  himself 
to  the  sat  ;sfaction  of  the  President  and  the  country,  during 
the  eight  years  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration.  The  fo- 
reign affairs  of  the  country  were  never  more  skilfully  handled. 
Peace  and  neutrality  were  preserved  through  all  difficulties, 
while  the  honor  of  the  nation  was  never  allowed  to  be  sullied. 

At  the  close  of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
federal  party  was  extinct.  All  the  candidates  for  the  suc- 
cession were  members  of  the  republican  party.  The  East 
brought  forward  the  man  who  by  his  superior  statesmanship 
had  become  its  "favorite  son" — John  Quincy  Adams.  The 
West  upheld  two  names — General  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
possessed  a  splendid  military  reputation — and  Henry  Clay, 
one  of  the  first  orators  and  most  active  statesmen  of  the  day. 
The  South  selected  William  II.  Crawford,  a  statesman  of 
commanding  talent,  as  its  candidate.  Of  these  personages, 
Mr.  Adams  least  sought  the  presidential  office.  He  allowed 
his  name  to  stand  before  the  people,  at  the  urgent  request 
of  a  large  body  of  admiring  friends. 

"  The  qualifications  on  which  his  supporters  depended, 
and  to  which  they  called  the  attention  of  the  American 
people,  as  reasons  for  elevating  him  to  the  head  of  the  ge- 
neral government,  may  be  summarily  enumerated,  as  fol- 
lows : — 1.  The  purity  of  his  private  character — the  simpli- 
city of  his  personal  habits — his  unbending  integrity  and  up- 
rightness, even  beyond  suspicion.  2.  His  commanding 
talents,  and  his  acquirements  both  as  a  scholar  and  a  states- 
man. 3.  His  love  of  country — his  truly  American  feelings, 
in  all  that  concerned  the  welfare  and  the  honor  of  the  United 
States.  4.  His  long  experience  in  public  affairs,  especially 
his  familiarity  with  our  foreign  relations,  and  his  perfect 
know  ledge  of  the  institutions,  the  internal  condition  and 


150  LIVES  (E  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

policy  of  European  nations.  5.  His  advocacy  of  protection 
to  domestic  manufactures,  and  of  a  judicious  system  of 
internal  improvements."* 

The  campaign  of  1824,  was  very  exciting.  The  greatest 
zeal  and  energy  was  displayed  by  the  friends  of  the  several 
candidates.  Of  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  electoral  votes, 
General  Jackson  received  ninety-nine  ;  Mr.  Adams,  eighty- 
four ;  Mr.  Crawford,  forty-one ;  and  Mr.  Clay,  thirty-seven. 
There  being  no  choice  by  the  people,  the  election  devolved 
on  the  house  of  representatives.  On  the  10th  of  February, 
1825,  that  body  proceeded  to  vote  by  states,  according  to 
the  constitution,  and  the  result  was  ascertained  to  be  as  fol- 
lows : — For  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  thirteen 
votes ;  for  Andrew  Jackson,  of  Tennessee,  seven  votes ;  for 
William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  four  votes.  John  Quincy 
Adams,  therefore,  was  declared  duly  elected  President  of 
the  United  States,  for  four  years,  commencing  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1825. 

The  choice  of  Mr.  Adams  by  the  house  of  representatives 
excited  a  great  deal  of  clamor  among  the  friends  of  General 
Jackson.  This  was  unreasonable.  General  Jackson  had 
received  fifteen  more  electoral  votes  than  Mr.  Adams,  but  the 
latter  was  superior  in  the  popular  Vote.  However,  much 
bitter  feeling  was  excited,  and  it  was  ever  charged  that  a 
bargain  had  been  made  between  Messrs.  Clay  and  Adams, 
by  the  terms  of  which,  the  latter  was  to  be  chosen  Pre- 
sident upon  condition  that  the  former  should  be  appointed 
Secretary  of  State.  This  charge  has  been  completely  refuted. 
It  could  not  have  been  made  except  in  partisan  heat.  John 
C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  was  elected  Vioe  President 
by  a  large  xnajority  in  the  electoral  college. 
*  Seward, 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  151 

Oil  the  4th  of  March,  1825,  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
inaugurated  as  President  of  the  United  States.  The  cere- 
monies were  brilliant  and  imposing.  Seldom  before  had 
such  a  scene  been  witnessed  at  Washington.  The  inaugural 
address  of  Mr.  Adams  was  a  statesman-like  and  polished 
composition,  doing  full  justice  to  his  political  and  rhetorical 
attainments.  He  thus  spoke  of  the  policy  of  the  preceding 
administration,  which  he  entirely  sanctioned : 

"  The  great  features  of  its  policy,  and  in  general  concur- 
rence with  the  will  of  the  legislature,  have  been — To  cher- 
ish peace  while  preparing  for  defensive  war — to  yield  exact 
justice  to  other  nations,  and  maintain  the  rights  of  our  own — 
to  cherish  the  principles  of  freedom  and  equal  rights,  where- 
ever  they  were  proclaimed — to  discharge,  with  all  possible 
promptitude,  the  national  debt — to  reduce  within  the  nar 
rowest  limits  of  efficiency  the  military  force — to  improve  the 
organization  and  discipline  of  the  army — to  proyide  and  sus- 
tain a  school  of  military  science — to  extend  equal  protection 
to  all  the  great  interests  of  the  nation — to  promote  the  civi- 
lization of  the  Indian  tribes  ;  and — to  proceed  to  the  great 
system  of  internal  improvements,  within  the  limits  of  the 
constitutional  power  of  the  Union.     Under  the  pledge  of 
these  promises,  made  by  that  eminent  citizen  at  the  time  of 
his  first  induction  to  this  office,  in  his  career  of  eight  years 
the  internal  taxes  have  been  repealed ;  sixty  millions  of  the 
public  debt  have  been  discharged ;  provision  has  been  made 
for  the  comfort  and  relief  of  the  aged  and  indigent  among 
the  surviving  warriors  of  the  Revolution  ;  the  regular  armed 
force  has  been  reduced,  and  its  constitution  revised  and  per- 
fected ;  the  accountability  for  the  exp  mditure  of  public  mo- 
nies has  been  more  affective ;  the  Flor.'das  have  been  peace- 
ably acquired,  and  our  boundary  has  been  extended  to  the 


152  LIVES  OF  THE  I  RESIDENTS. 

Pacific  Ocean  ;  the  independence  of  the  southern  nations  of 
this  hemisphere  has  been  recognized,  and  recommended  by 
example  and  by  counsel  to  the  potentates  of  Europe ;  pro- 
gress has  been  made  in  the  defence  of  the  country,  by  forti« 
fi cations  and  the  increase  of  the  navy — towards  the  effectual 
Bupj  ression  of  the  African  traffic  in  slaves — in  alluring  the 
aboriginal  hunters  of  our  land  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil 
and  of  the  mind — in  exploring  the  interior  regions  of  the 
Union,  and  in  preparing,  by  scientific  researches  and  surveys 
for  the  further  application  of  our  national  resources  to  the 
internal  improvement  of  our  country." 

In  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  President, 
Mr.  Adams  formed  his  cabinet  by  nominating  Henry  Clay, 
of  Kentucky,  Secretary  of  State ;  Richard  Rush,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  James  Barbour,  of 
Virginia,  Secretary  of  War ;  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  ;  and  William  Wirt,  Attorney  General.  These 
were  all  men  of  well-known  capacity  and  integrity.  A  power- 
ful opposition  was  organized,  but  Mr.  Adams,  throughout 
his  presidential  term,  discharged  his  duties  with  the  utmost 
fearlessness,  as  well  as  with  consummate  ability,  and  the 
clamors  of  violent  partisans  were  treated  with  contempt. 

In  the  year  of  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  vete- 
ran General  Lafayette  visited  the  United  States,  made  the 
tour  of  the  country,  and  was  every  where  received  with  en- 
thusiasm and  expressions  of  gratitude  for  revolutionary  ser- 
vices. On  the  7th  of  September,  1825,  he  took  leave  of 
the  general  government.  On  this  occasion,  President  Adams 
bade  him  farewell  in  an  address,  not  more  remarkable  for 
dignified  eloquence  than  for  generous  emotion. 

In  the  same  month,  the  President  visited  his  aged  father, 
at  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  It  was  his  last  interview  with 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  153 

the  old  patriot.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  John  Adama 
and  his  compatriot,  Thomas  Jefferson,  left  the  earth  togethei  •. 
amid  the  rejoicings  of  "Independence  Day." 

The  aims  of  President  Adams  were  to  conciliate  all  rar 
ties  and  to  benefit  the  whole  country,  and  his  administr  itioii 
was  certainly  wise  and  energetic.  Internal  improvements 
and  domestic  manufactures  were  objects  of  constant  solici- 
tude. The  first  tended  to  strengthen  the  Union,  the  second 
to  render  it  truly  independent.  The  Secretary  of  State 
was  active  and  skilful.  During  the  four  years  of  Mr.  Adams's 
administration,  more  treaties  were  negotiated  at  Washington 
than  during  the  entire  thirty-six  years  through  which  the 
preceding  administrations  had  extended. 

Throughout  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  opposition 
was  strong,  bitter,  and  unscrupulous.  Most  of  the  measures 
of  the  government  were  approved,  But  there  was  a  deter- 
mination manifest  to  seek  out  every  occasion  to  denounce 
the  President  and  his  cabinet.  In  Congress,  the  opposition 
had  a  majority.  In  the  fall  of  1828,  the  presidential  elec- 
tion occurred.  Mr.  Adams  and  General  Jackson  were  the 
opposing  candidates.  The  contest  was  highly  exciting.  But 
the  result  was  anticipated.  General  Jackson  obtained  a 
large  majority  in  the  electoral  college.  As  Mr.  Adams  had 
taken  his  lofty  seat  with  diffidence,  he  retired  from  it  with 
dignity  and  without  regret.  He  was  satisfied  that  he  had 
lone  his  duty. 

After  witnessing  the  inauguration  of  General  Jackson,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1829,  Mr.  Adams  retired  to  the  old  fa- 
mily seat  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  One  of  his  first  acts 
there,  was  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  hia 
parents.  The  inscription  contained  a  glowing  eulogy  upon 
their  virtue  and  patriotism,  and  was  honorable  to  the  feel- 


154  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ingg  of  the  noble  son.  Scientific  and  literary  pursuits,  as 
well  as  the  conversation  of  friends,  now  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  the  ex-president.  But  the  public  voice  demanded 
new  service.  In  1830,  the  people  of  the  Plymouth  district 
nominated  him  for  their  representative  in  Congress,  and, 
contrary  to  general  expectation,  he  accepted  the  nomination 
It  was  his  constant  creed,  that  whatever  service  the  country 
demanded  of  a  citizen,  that  he  was  bound  to  render,  and  no 
false  idea  of  dignity  could  deter  him  from  acting  accordingly 
In  due  time  the  election  was  held,  and  Mr.  Adams  was  re 
turned  to  Congress,  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote.  From  that 
time  forward,  for  seventeen  years,  and  to  the  hour  of  his 
death,  he  occupied  the  post  of  representative  in  Congress 
from  the  Plymouth  district,  with  unswerving  fidelity  and 
honor.  His  course  was  ever  bold,  decided,  and  independent. 
He  was  a  ready  and  powerful  debater,  and  won  the  title  of 
"the  old  man  eloquent."  No  subject  came  before  Congress 
upon  which  he  could  not  shed  light,  while  his  devotion  to 
principle  and  to  the  rights  of  man  was  untiring,  and,  on  par- 
ticular occasions,  heroic.  Mr.  Adams  first  took  his  seat  in 
the  house  of  representatives  in  December,  1831.  The  marks 
of  respect  and  affection  received  by  him  from  distinguished 
representatives  were  many  and  gratifying.  Those  who  had 
refused  even  justice  to  the  President  were  willing  to  render 
the  man  his  due.  As  a  member  of  committees,  Mr.  Adams 
was  diligent  and  attentive,  while  it  was  a  matter  of  general 
nute,  that  he  was  usually  the  first  representative  to  enter 
the  house  and  the  last  to  leave  it.  He  acted  in  general, 
with  the  whigs,  as  the  opponents  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren 
were  called,  but  when  he  thought  that  party  wrong,  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  oppose  it,  and  support  the  administration. 
Courageous  independence  was  his  noblest  trait  as  a  states- 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  155 

man.  Whatever  opinions  may  be  entertained  in  regard  to 
the  -wisdom  of  Mr.  Adam's  opposition  to  the  Texas  inde- 
pendence and  annexation  scheme,  and  of  his  advocacy  of  the 
the  right  of  petition  touching  the  institution  of  slavery,  all 
must  admire  the  firmness,  the  perseverance,  the  almost  sub- 
lime determination  he  displayed  in  maintaining  his  doctrines, 
amid  tempests  of  abuse  and  denunciation,  as  well  as  threats 
of  expulsion  and  assassination. 

Upon  all  subjects,  but  slavery,  Mr.  Adams  could  com- 
mand the  respectful  attention  of  the  house.  The  confidence 
placed  in  him  in  emergencies  was  unbounded.  A  case  in 
point  is  afforded  in  the  difficulty  occasioned  by  the  double 
delegation  from  New  Jersey,  which  is  thus  given  in  the 
famous  "  Reminiscences  of  John  Quincy  Adams,"  by  an  Old 
Colony  Man : 

On  the  opening  of  the  26th  Congress,  in  December,  1839, 
in  consequence  of  a  two-fold  delegation  from  New  Jersey, 
the  house  was  unable,  for  some  time,  to  complete  its  organiza- 
tion, and  presented  to  the  country  and  the  world  the  perilous 
and  discreditable  aspect  of  the  assembled  representatives 
of  the  people,  unable  to  form  themselves  into  a  constitutional 
body.  On  first  assembling,  the  house  has  no  officers,  and 
the  clerk  of  the  preceding  Congress  acts,  by  usage,  as  chair- 
man of  the  body,  till  a  speaker  is  chosen.  On  this  occasion, 
after  reaching  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  the  acting  clerk  de- 
clined to  proceed  in  calling  the  roll,  and  refused  to  entertain 
any  of  the  motions  which  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
tricating the  house  from  its  embarrassment.  Many  of  the 
ablest  and  most  judicious  members  had  addressed  the  house 
in  vain,  and  there  was  nothing  but  confusion  and  disorder  in 
prospect. 

The  fourth  day  opened,  and  still  confusion  was  triumphant. 


156  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

But  the  hour  of  disenthralment  was  at  hand,  and  a  scene 
was  presented  which  set  the  mind  back  to  those  days  when 
Cromwell  uttered  the  exclamation — "  Sir  Harry  Vane  !  wo 
i  into  you,  Sir  Harry  Vane  !" — and  in  an  instant  dispersed 
the  famous  Rump  Parliament. 

Mr.  Adams,  from  the  opening  of  this  scene  of  confusion 
and  anarchy,  had  maintained  a  profound  silence.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  engaged  most  of  the  time  in  writing.  To  a 
common  observer,  he  seemed  to  be  reckless  of  everything 
around  him — but  nothing,  not  the  slightest  incident  escaped 
him.  The  fourth  day  of  the  struggle  had  now  commenced ; 
Mr.  Hugh  H.  Garland,  the  clerk,  was  directed  to  call  the 
roll  again. 

He  commenced  with  Maine,  as  was  usual  in  those  days, 
and  was  proceeding  towards  Massachusetts.  I  turned,  and 
saw  that  Mr.  Adams  was  ready  to  get  the  floor  at  the  earliest 
moment  possible.  His  keen  eye  was  riveted  on  the  clerk  ; 
his  hands  clasped  the  front  edge  of  his  desk,  where  he  always 
placed  them  to  assist  him  in  rising.  He  looked,  in  the 
language  of  Otway,  like  the 


•"  fowler  eager  for  his  prey." 


"New  Jersey!"  ejaculated  Mr.  Hugh  H.  Garland,  "and 
;he  clerk  has  to  repeat  that " 

Mr.  Adams  sprang  to  the  floor  ! 

"I  rise  to  interrupt  the  clerk,"  was  his  first  ejaculation. 

"  Silence,  silence,"  resounded  through  the  hall ;  "  heal 
him,  hear  him.  Hear  what  he  has  to  say;  hear  John 
Quincy  Adams !"  was  the  unanimous  ejaculation  on  all  sides. 
In  an  instant  the  most  profound  silence  reigned  throughout 
the  hall — you  might  have  heard  a  leaf  of  paper  drop  in  any 
part  of  it — and  every  eye  was  riveted  on  the  venerable 


JOHN  QTJINCY  ADAMS.  157 

Nestor  of  Massachusetts — the  purest  of  statesmen,  and  the 
noblest  of  men  !  He  paused  for  a  moment ;  and,  having 
given  Mr.  Garland  a 

''  withering  look !  " 

he  proceeded  to  address  the  multitude  : 

"  It  was  not  my  intention,"  said  he,  "  to  take  any  part 
in  these  extraordinary  proceedings.  I  had  hoped  that  this 
house  would  succeed  in  organizing  itself;  that  a  speaker 
and  clerk  would  be  elected,  and  that  the  ordinary  business 
of  legislation,  would  be  progressed  in.  This  is  not  the  time, 
or  place,  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  conflicting  claimants 
for  seats  from  New  Jersey ;  that  subject  belongs  to  the 
house  of  representatives,  which,  by  the  constitution,  is  made 
the  ultimate  arbiter  of  the  qualifications  of  its  members. 
But  what  a  spectacle  we  here  present !  We  degrade  and 
disgrace  ourselves ;  we  degrade  and  disgrace  our  constituents 
and  the  country.  We  do  not,  and  cannot  organize ;  and 
why?  Because  the  clerk  of  this  house,  the  mere  clerk, 
whom  we  create,  whom  we  employ,  and  whose  existence  de- 
pends upon  our  will,  usurps  the  throne,  and  sets  us,  the  re- 
presentatives, the  vicegerents  of  the  whole  American  people, 
at  defiance,  and  holds  us  in  contempt !  And  what  is  this  clerk 
of  yours  ?  Is  he  to  control  the  destinies  of  sixteen  millions 
of  freemen  ?  Is  he  to  suspend,  by  his  mere  negative,  the 
functions  of  government,  and.  put  an  end  to  this  Congress  ? 
He  refuses  to  call  the  roll !  It  is  in  your  power  to  compel 
him  to  call  it,  if  he  will  not  do  it  voluntarily.  [Here  he 
was  interrupted  by  a  member,  who  said  that  he  was  autho- 
rized to  say  that  compulsion  could  not  reach  the  clerk,  who 
had  avowed  that  he  would  resign,  rather  than  call  the  state 
of  New  Jersey.]  Well,  sir,  then  let  him  resign,'  continued 


158  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Mr.  Adams,  "and  we  may  possibly  discover  some  viay  by 
which  we  can  get  along,  without  the  aid  of  his  all-powerful 
talent,  learning,  and  genius.  If  we  cannot  organize  in  any 
other  way — if  this  clerk  of  yours  will  not  consent  to  our 
discharging  the  trusts  confided  to  us  by  our  constituents, 
then  let  us  imitate  the  example  of  the  Virginia  house  of  bur- 
gesses, which,  when  the  colonial  Governor  Dinwiddie  ordered 
it  to  disperse,  refused  to  obey  the  imperious  and  insulting 
mandate,  and,  like  men " 

The  multitude  could  not  contain  or  repress  their  enthu- 
siasm any  longer,  but  saluted  the  eloquent  and  indignant 
speaker,  and  intercepted  him  with  loud  and  deafening  cheers, 
which  seemed  to  shake  the  capitol  to  its  centre.  The  very 
Genii  of  applause  and  enthusiasm  seemed  to  float  in  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  hall,  and  every  heart  expanded  with  an  inde- 
scribable feeling  of  pride  and  exultation.  The  turmoil,  the 
darkness,  the  very  "  chaos  of  anarchy,"  which  had,  for  three 
successive  days,  pervaded  the  American  Congress,  was  dis- 
pelled by  the  magic,  the  talismanic  eloquence  of  a  single 
man  ;  and  once  more  the  wheels  of  government  and  of  legis- 
lation were  put  in  motion. 

Having,  by  this  powerful  appeal,  brought  the  yet  unor- 
ganized assembly  to  a  perception  of  its  hazardous  position, 
he  submitted  a  motion  requiring  the  acting  clerk  to  proceed 
in  calling  the  roll.  This  and  similar  motions  had  already 
been  made  by  other  members.  The  difficulty  was,  that  the 
acting  clerk  declined  to  entertain  them.  Accordingly,  Mr. 
Adams  was  immediately  interrupted  by  a  burst  of  voices  de- 
manding, "How  shall  the  question  be  put?"  "Who  will 
put  the  question  ?"  The  voice  of  Mr.  Adams  was  heard  above 
the  tumult,  "I  intend  to  put  the  question  myself!"  That 
word  brought  order  out  of  chaos.  There  was  the  master  mind. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  159 

As  soon  as  the  multitude  had  recovered  itself,  and  the  ex- 
citement of  irrepressible  enthusiasm  had  abated,  Mr.  Rich- 
ard Barnwell  Rhett,  of  South  Carolina,  leaped  upon  one  of 
the  desks,  waved  his  hand,  and  exclaimed : 

"  I  move  that  the  Honorable  John  Quincy  Adams  take 
the  chair  of  the  speaker  of  this  house,  and  officiate  as  pre- 
siding officer,  till  the  house  be  organized  by  the  election  of 
its  constitutional  officers  !  As  many  as  are  agreed  to  this  will 
say  ay  ;  those " 

He  had  not  an  opportunity  to  complete  the  sentence — 
"  those  who  are  not  agreed,  will  say  no," — for  one  universal, 
deafening,  thundering  ay^  responded  to  the  nomination. 

Hereupon,  it  was  moved  and  ordered  that  Lewis  Williams, 
of  North  Carolina,  arid  Richard  Barnwell  Rhett,  conduct 
John  Qumcv  Adams  to  the  chair. 

Well  did  Mr.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  say,  "  Sir,  I  regard  it  as 
the  proudest  hour  of  your  life ;  and  if,  when  you  shall  be 
gathered  to  your  fathers,  I  were  asked  to  select  the  words 
which,  in  my  judgment,  are  best  calculated  to  give  at  once 
the  character  of  the  man,  I  would  inscribe  upon  your  tomb 
this  sentence,  '  I  will  put  the  question  myself.' ' 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Adams  in  behalf  of  the  right  of  peti- 
tion were  at  length  crowned  with  success.  In  1845,  the 
obnoxious  "gag  rule,"  was  rescinded,  and  Congress  con- 
sented to  receive  and  treat  respectfully  all  petitions  on  the 
subject  of  slavery. 

"  If  any  thing  were  wanting  to  crown  the  fame  of  Mr. 
Adams,  in  the  last  days  of  life,  with  imperishable  honor,  or 
to  add,  if  possible,  new  brilliancy  to  the  beams  of  his  setting 
sun,  it  is  found  in  his  advocacy  of  the  freedom  of  the  Ami- 
stad  slaves. 

"  A.  ship- load  of  negroes  had  been  stolen  from  Africa, 


160  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

contrary  to  the  laws  of  nations,  of  humanity,  and  of  God, 
and  surreptitiously  smuggled,  in  the  night,  into  the  Island 
of  Cuba.  This  act  was  piracy,  according  to  the  law  of 
Spain,  and  of  all  governments  in  Christendom,  and  the  per- 
petrators thereof,  had  they  been  dectected,  would  have 
been  punished  with  death.  Immediately  after  the  landing 
of  these  unfortunate  Africans,  about  thirty-six  of  them  were 
purchased  of  the  slave  pirates,  by  two  Spaniards,  named 
Don  Jose  Ruiz  and  Don  Pedro  Montes,  who  shipped  them 
for  Guanaja,  Cuba,  in  the  schooner  'Amistad.'  When 
three  days  out  from  Havana,  the  Africans  rose,  killed  the 
captain  and  crew,  and  took  possession  of  the  vessel — sparing 
the  lives  of  their  purchasers,  Ruiz  and  Montes.  This  trans- 
action was  unquestionably  justifiable  on  the  part  of  the  ne- 
groes. They  had  been  stolen  from  their  native  land — had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  pirates  and  robbers,  and  reduced  to 
abject  slavery.  According  to  the  first  law  of  nature — the 
law  of  self-defence — implanted  in  the  bosom  of  every  human 
being  by  the  Creator,  they  were  justified  in  taking  any 
measures  necessary  to  restore  them  to  the  enjoyment  of  that 
freedom  which  was  theirs  by  birthright. 

"  The  negroes  being  unable  to  manage  the  schooner,  com- 
pelled Ruiz  and  Montes  to  navigate  her,  and  directed  them 
to  shape  her  course  for  Africa ;  for  it  was  their  design  to 
return  to  their  native  land.  But  they  were  deceived  by 
the  two  Spaniards,  who  brought  the  schoonei  to  the  coast 
of  the  United  States,  where  she  was  taken  possession  of  by 
Lieutenant  Gedney,  of  the  United  States  surveying  brig 
Washington,  a  few  miles  off  Montauk  Point,  and  brought 
into  New  London,  Connecticut.  The  two  Spaniards  claimed 
ihe  Africans  as  their  property ;  and  the  Spanish  minister 
demanded  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  that 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  161 

they  be  delivered  up  to  the  proper  authorites,  and  taken 
oack  to  Havana,  to  be  tried  for  piracy  and  murder, 
The  matter  was  brought  before  the  District  Court  of 
Connecticut. 

"  In  the  mean  time  President  Van  Buren  ordered  the 
United  States  schooner  Grampus,  Lieutenant  John  S.  Paine, 
to  repaii  to  New  Haven,  to  be  in  readiness  to  convey  the 
Africans  to  Havana,  should  such  be  the  decision  of  the 
court.  But  the  court  decided  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States  had  no  authority  to  return  them  into  slavery ; 
and  directed  that  they  be  conveyed  in  one  of  our  public  ships 
to  the  shores  of  Africa,  from  whence  they  had  been  torn 
away.  From  this  decision  the  United  States  District 
Attorney  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

These  transactions  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole 
people  of  the  Union,  and  naturally  excited  the  sympathy  of 
the  masses,  pro  and  con  as  they  were  favorable  or  unfavor- 
able to  the  institution  of  slavery.  Who  should  defend  in  the 
Supreme  Court,  these  poor  outcasts — ignorant,  degraded, 
wretched — who,  fired  with  a  noble  energy,  had  burst  the 
shackles  of  slavery,  and  by  a  wave  of  fortune  had  been  thrown 
into  the  midst  of  a  people  professing  freedom,  yet  keeping 
their  feet  on  the  necks  of  millions  of  slaves  ?  The  eyes  of 
all  the  friends  of  human  rights  turned  instinctively  to  JOHN 
QUINCY  ADAMS.  Nor  were  their  expectations  disappointed. 
Without  hesitation  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Amistad 
negroes.  At  the  age  of  seventy-four,  he  appeared  in  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  to  advocate  their  cause. 
He  entered  upon  this  labor  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  youth- 
tul  barrister,  and  displayed  forensic,  talents,  a  critical  know- 
ledge of  law,  and  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  which 


162  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

would  have  added  to  the  renown  of  the  most  eminent  jurists 
of  the  day.* 

"  When  he  went  to  the  supreme  court,  after  an  absence 
of  thirty  years,  and  arose  to  defend  a  body  of  friendless 
negroes,  torn  from  their  home  and  most  unjustly  held  in 
thrall — when  he  asked  the  judges  to  excuse  him  at  once 
both  for  the  trembling  faults  of  age  and  the  inexperience  of 
youth,  having  labored  so  long  elsewhere  that  he  had  for- 
gotten the  rules  of  court — when  he  summed  up  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  whole  matter,  and  brought  before  those  judicial 
but  yet  moistening  eyes,  the  great  men  he  had  once  met 
there — Chase,  Gushing,  Martin,  Livingston,  and  Marshall 
himself ;  and  while  he  remembered  that  they  were  '  gone, 
gone,  all  gone,'  remembered  also  the  eternal  Justice  that  is 
never  gone — the  sight  was  sublime.  It  was  not  an  old  pa 
trician  ol  Home,  wno  Had  Deen  Uonsui.  Uictator,  comma 
•>ut  of  his  retirement  at  the  Senate  s  call,  to  stand  in  the 
Forum  to  levy  new  armies,  marshal  tnem  to  victory  alresn, 
and  gain  thereby  new  laurels  for  his  brow ;  but  it  was  a 
plain  citizen  of  America,  who  had  held  an  office  far  greater 
than  that  of  Consul,  King,  or  Dictator,  his  hand  reddened 
by  no  man's  blood,  expecting  no  honors,  but  coming  in  the 
name  of  justice,  to  plead  for  the  slave,  for  the  poor  barba- 
rian negro  of  Africa,  for  Cinque  and  Grabbo,  for  their  deeds 
comparing  them  to  Harmodius  and  Aristogeiton,  whose 
classic  memory  made  each  bosom  thrill.  Thut  was  worth 
all  his  honors — it  was  worth  while  to  live  fourscore  years 
for  that."f 

"  This  effort  of  Mr.  Adams  was  crowned  with  complete 
success.     The  supreme  court  decided  that  the  Africans  were 
entitled  to  their  freedom*,  and  ordered  them  to  be  liberated 
*  Seward,  t  Theodore  Parker. 


JOHN  QUINCT  ADAMS.  163 

In  due  time  they  were  enabled,  by  the  assistance  of  the 
charitable,  to  sail  for  Africa,  and  take  with  them  many  of 
the  implements  of  civilized  life.  They  arrived  in  safety  at 
Sierre  Leone,  and  were  allowed  once  more  to  mingle  with 
their  friends. 

"  In  availing  the  country  of  the  benefit  of  the  '  Smithso- 
nian Bequest,'  and  in  founding  the  'Smithsonian  Institute' 
at  Washington,  Mr.  Adams  took  an  active  part.  He  re- 
peatedly called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject, 
until  he  succeeded  in  causing  a  bill  to  be  passed  providing 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Institute.  He  was  appointed 
one  of  the  Regents  of  the  Institute,  which  office  he  held 
until  his  death. 

"  In  the  summer  of  1843,  Mr.  Adams  visited  Lebanon 
Springs,  New  York,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  which  had 
become  somewhat  impaired,  and  also  the  health  of  a  cherished 
member  of  his  family.  He  designed  to  devote  only  four  or 
five  days  to  this  journey ;  but  he  was  so  highly  pleased  with 
the  small  portion  of  the  state  of  New  York  he  saw  at  Leba- 
non Springs,  that  he  was  induced  to  proceed  further.  He 
visited  Saratoga,  Lake  George,  Lower  Canada,  Montreal 
and  Quebec.  Returning,  he  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  Lakes  as  far  as  Niagara  Falls  and  Buffalo,  and  by  the 
way  of  Rochester,  Auburn,  TJtica  and  Albany,  sought  his 
home  in  Quincy  with  health  greatly  improved. 

"  Although  Mr.  Adams  had  many  bitter  enemies — made 
so  by  his  fearless  independence,  and  the  stern  integrity 
with  which  he  discharged  the  public  duties  entrusted  to 
him — yet  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  he  ever  occupied  the 
highest  position.  They  not  only  respected  and  admired  the 
politician,  the  st  itesman,  but  the^  venerated  the  MAN  !  they 
loved  him  for  his  purity,  his  philanthropy,  his  disinterested 


164  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

patriotism,  his  devotion  to  freedom  and  human  rights.  All 
this  was  manifested  during  his  tour  through  New  York.  It 
was  marked  in  its  whole  extent  by  demonstration  of  the 
highest  attention  and  respect  from  the  people  of  all  parties. 
Public  greetings,  processions,  celebrations,  met  him  and  ac- 
companied him  at  every  step  of  his  journey.  Never  since 
the  visit  of  Lafayette,  had  such  an  anxious  desire  to  honor 
a  great  and  good  man  been  manifested  by  the  entire  mass  of 
the  people.  His  progress  was  one  continued  triumphal  pro- 
cession. '  I  may  say,'  exclaimed  Mr.  Adams,  near  the 
close  of  his  tour,  '  without  being  charged  with  pride  or  vanity 
I  have  come  not  alone,  for  the  whole  people  of  the  state  of 
New  York  have  been  my  companions  !' 

"  At  Buffalo  he  was  received  with  every  possible  demon- 
stration of  respect.  The  national  ensign  was  streaming  from 
an  hundred  masts,  and  the  wharves,  and  the  decks  and  rig- 
ging of  vessels,  were  crowded  by  thousands  anxious  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  renowned  statesman  and  patriot,  who  was 
greeted  by  repeated  cheers.  The  Honorable  Millard  Fillmore 
addressed  him  with  great  eloquence.  The  following  is  the 
conclusion  of  his  speech  : 

"  You  see  around  you,  sir,  no  political  partisans  seeking 
to  promote  some  sinister  purpose ;  but  you  see  here  assem- 
bled the  people  of  our  infant  city,  without  distinction  of 
party,  sex,  age,  or  condition — all,  all  anxiously  vicing  with 
each  other  to  show  their  respect  and  esteem  for  your  public 
services  and  private  worth.  Here  are  gathered,  in  this  vast 
multitude  of  what  must  appear  to  you  strange  faces,  thou- 
sands whose  hearts  have  vibrated  to  the  chord  of  sympathy 
which  your  speeches  have  touched.  Here  is  reflecting  age, 
and  ardent  youth,  and  lisping  childhood,  to  all  of  whom 
your  venerated  name  is  as  dear  as  household  words — all 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  165 

anxious  to  feast  their  eyes  by  a  sight  of  that  extraordinary 
and  venerable  man,  of  whom  they  have  heard,  and  read  of 
that  '  old  man  eloquent,'  on  whose  lips  wisdom  has  distilled 
her  choicest  nectar.  Here,  sir,  you  see  them  all,  and  read 
VL  their  eager  and  joy-gladdened  countenances,  and  brightly 
beaming  eyes,  a  welcome — a  thrice-told,  heart-felt,  soul- 
stirring  welcome  to  '  the  man  whom  they  delight  to  honor.' 

"  Mr.  Adams  responded  to  this  speech  in  a  strain  of  most 
interesting  remarks.  He  commenced  as  follows : 

"  I  must  request  your  indulgence  for  a  moment's  pause 
to  take  breath.  If  you  inquire  why  I  ask  this  indulgence, 
it  is  because  I  am  so  overpowered  by  the  eloquence  of  my 
friend,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and  means, 
(whom  I  have  so  long  been  accustomed  to  refer  to  in  that 
capacity,  that,  with  your  permission,  I  will  continue  so  to 
denominate  him  now,)  that  I  have  no  words  left  to  answer 
him.  For  so  liberal  has  he  been  in  bestowing  that  eloquence 
upon  me  which  he  himself  possesses  in  so  eminent  a  degree, 
that  while  he  was  ascribing  to  me  talents  so  far  above  my 
own  consciousness  in  that  regard,  I  was  all  the  time  implor- 
ing the  god  of  eloquence  to  give  me,  at  least  at  this  moment, 
a  few  words  to  justify  him  before  you  in  making  that  splendid 
panegyric  which  he  has  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  me ; 
and  that  the  flattering  picture  which  he  has  presented  to 
you,  may  not  immediately  be  defaced  before  your  eyes  by 
what  you  should  hear  from  me.  *  *  *  * 

"  In  concluding  his  remarks,  he  said :  '  Of  your  attach- 
ment to  moral  principles  I  have  this  day  had  another  and 
pleasing  proof  in  the  dinner  of  which  I  have  partaken  in  the 
steamer,  in  which,  by  your  kindness,  I  have  been  conveyed 
to  this  place.  It  was  a  sumptuous  dinner,  but  at  which 
temperance  was  the  presiding  power.  I  congratulate  you 


166 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


on  the  evidence  there  exhibited  of  your  attachment  to  moral 
principle,  in  your  co-operation  in  that  great  movement  which 
is  promoting  the  happiness  and  elevation  of  man  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe. 

"And  here  you  will  permit  me  to  allude  to  an  incident 
which  has  occurred  in  my  recent  visit  to  Canada,  in  which  ] 
perceived  the  co-operations  of  the  people  of  that  Province  in 
the  same  great  moral  reformation.  While  at  Quebec,  I 
visited  the  Falls  of  Montmorenci,  a  cataract  which,  but  for 
yours,  would  be  among  the  greatest  wonders  of  nature.  IE 
going  to  it,  I  passed  through  the  parish  of  Beauport,  and 
there,  by  the  side  of  the  way,  I  saw  a  column  with  an  inscrip- 
tion upon  its  pedestal,  which  I  had  the  curiosity  to  stop  and 
read.  It  was  erected  by  the  people  of  Beauport  in  gratitude 
to  the  Virgin,  for  her  goodness  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
temperance  in  that  parish.  Perhaps  I  do  not  sufficiently 
sympathize  with  the  people  of  Beauport  in  attributing  to  the 
Virgin  so  direct  an  influence  upon  this  moral  reform  ;  but 
in  the  spirit  with  which  they  erected  that  monument  I  do 
most  cordially  sympathize  with  them.  For,  under  whatever 
influence  the  cause  may  be  promoted,  the  cause  itself  can 
never  fail  to  make  its  votaries  wiser  and  better  men.  I  can- 
not make  a  speech.  My  heart  is  too  full,  and  my  voice  too 
feeble.  Farewell !  And  with  that  farewell,  may  the  blessings 
of  heaven  be  upon  you  throughout  your  lives  !" 

Mr.  Adams  was  greatly  delighted  with  his  visit  to  Niagara 
Falls,  and  with  his  whole  tour. 

During  the  same  year  he  delivered  numerous  lectures 
before  literary  associations,  and  yet  attended  to  his  Congres- 
sional duties.  Labors  which  would  task  the  strength  of 
youth,  he  performed  with  comparative  ease  and  comfort. 

"His  great  longevity  and  his  general  good  health  must 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  167 

be  attributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  his  abstemious  and  tem- 
perate habits,  early  rising,  and  active  exercise.  He  took 
pleasure  in  athletic  amusements,  and  was  exceedingly  fond 
of  walking.  During  his  summer  residence  in  Quincy,  he  has 
been  known  to  walk  to  his  son's  residence  in  Boston,  (seven 
ndles,)  befoi  s  breakfast.  '  While  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  wtis  probably  the  first  man  up  in  Washington, 
ighted  his  own  fire,  and  was  hard  at  work  in  his  library, 
while  sleep  yet  held  in  its  obliviousness  the  great  mass  of  his 
fellow-citizens.'  He  was  an  expert  swimmer,  and  was  in  the 
constant  habit  of  bathing,  whenever  circumstances  would 
permit.  Not  unfrequently  the  first  beams  of  the  rising  sun, 
is  they  fell  upon  the  beautiful  Potomac,  would  find  Mr. 
Adams  buffeting  its  waves  with  all  the  sportiveness  and  dex- 
terity of  boyhood,  while  a  single  attendant  watched  upon 
the  shore.  While  in  the  Presidency,  he  sometimes  made  a 
journey  from  Washington  to  Quincy  on  horseback,  as  a 
simple  citizen,  accompanied  only  by  a  servant."* 

More  than  fourscore  years  had  wasted  their  strength 
upon  the  frame  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  he  was  still  found  in 
the  hall  of  representatives.  There,  at  his  post,  the  hand 
of  death  was  laid  upon  his  venerable  head.  On  the  20th  of 
November,  1846,  he  experienced  the  first  blow  of  the  dis- 
ease, which  terminated  his  existence.  On  the  morning  of 
that  day,  at  Boston,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis.  This 
affliction  confined  him  for  several  weeks,  when  he  gained 
sufficient  strength  to  proceed  to  Washington.  After  this 
stroke,  he  did  not  mingle  as  freely  in  debate  as  formerly. 
On  the  21st  of  February,  1848,  while  voting  for  a  resolu- 
tion returning  thanks  to  several  generals,  who  had  distin- 
guished themselves  in  the  Mexican  war,  Mr.  Adams  was 

•  Seward. 


168  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

again  struck  with  paralysis.  The  members  crowded  around 
him.  The  house  adjourned  amid  the  excitement.  Mr. 
Adams  was  laid,  in  a  state  of  insensibility,  upon  a  sofa  in 
the  speaker's  room.  The  senate  adjourned  as  soon  as  in- 
formed of  the  accident.  On  all  sides  the  deepest  regret  and 
Horrow  was  manifested.  The  elements  of  life  and  death 
continued  in  uncertain  balance  until  the  evening  of  the  23d, 
when  the  spirit  fled  to  God.  The  last  words  of  the  vene- 
rable statesman  were — "  This  is  the  end  of  earth — /  am 
content." 

The  nation  was  thrown  into  mourning  upon  the  announce 
ment  of  the  death  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  President  Polk 
issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the  bereavement,  and 
directing  the  suspension  of  all  public  business  upon  the 
day  of  the  funeral — the  26th  of  February.  The  body  was 
laid,  with  imposing  ceremony,  in  the  Congressional  burial- 
ground,  where  it  remained  until  the  next  week,  when  a 
committee  of  one  from  each  state  and  territory  in  the  union, 
appointed  by  the  house  of  representatives,  conveyed  it  to 
the  family  burying  ground,  at  Quincy.  Funeral  processions 
along  the  route  gave  indications  of  the  national  sorrow. 
The  body  was  laid  in  a  plain  tomb,  prepared  by  the  direc- 
tion of  the  deceased  statesman.  Upon  it  was  inscribed — 
JOHN  QUINCY  ADA?.IS — and  nothing  more — ;and  nothing 
more  was  necessary. 

Numerous  eulogiums  have  been  pronounced  upon  .he 
character  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  Among  the  most  elo- 
quent was  that  delivered  by  Governor  William  H.  Seward, 
before  the  New  York  legislature,  /rom  it  we  make  the 
following  extract : 

"  The  model  by  which  he  formed  his  character  was  Cicero. 
Not  the  living  Cicero,  sometimes  inconsistent ;  often  irreso- 


JOHN  QULNCY  ADAMS.  169 

lute ;  too  jften  seeming  to  act  a  studied  part ;  and  always 
covetous  of  applause.  But  Cicero,  as  he  aimed  to  be,  an' 
as  he  appears  revealed  in  those  immortal  emanations  of  his 
genius  which  have  been  the  delight  and  guide  of  intellect 
and  virtue  in  every  succeeding  age.  Like  the  Roman,  Adams 
was  an  orator,  but  he  did  not  fall  into  the  errors  of  the 
Roman,  in  practically  valuing  eloquence  more  than  the 
beneficence  to  which  it  should  be  devoted.  Like  him  he 
was  a  statesman  and  magistrate  worthy  to  be  called  "  The 
second  founder  of  the  Republic," — like  him  a  teacher  of 
didactic  philosophy,  of  morals,  and  even  of  his  own  peculiar 
art ;  and  like  him  he  made  all  liberal  learning  tributary  to 
that  nable  art,  while  poetry  was  the  inseparable  companion 
of  his  genius  in  its  hours  of  relaxation  from  the  labors  of 
the  forum  and  of  the  capitol. 

"  Like  him  he  loved  only  the  society  of  good  men,  and  by 
his  generous  praise  of  such,  illustrated  the  Roman's  beautiful 
aphorism,  that  no  one  can  be  envious  of  good  deeds,  who 
has  confidence  in  his  own  virtue.  Like  Cicero  he  kept  him- 
self unstained  by  social  or  domestic  vices ;  preserved  sere- 
nity and  cheerfulness ;  cherished  habitual  reverence  for  the 
Deity,  and  dwelt  continually,  not  on  the  mystic  theology  of 
the  schools,  but  on  the  hopes  of  a  better  life.  He  had  lived 
in  what  will  be  regarded  as  the  virtuous  age  of  his  country, 
while  Cicero  was  surrounded  by  an  overwhelming  degene- 
racy. He  had  the  light  of  Christianity  for  his  guide  ;  and 
its  sublime  motives  as  incitements  to  virtue ;  while  Cicero 
had  only  the  confused  instructions  of  the  Grecian  schools, 
and  saw  nothing  certainly  attainable  but  present  applause 
and  future  fame.  In  moral  courage,  therefore,  he  excelled 
uis  model  and  rivalled  Cato.  But  Cato  was  a  visionary, 
who  insisted  upon  his  right  to  act  always  without  reference 


170 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


to  the  condition  of  mankind,  as  he  should  have  acted  in 
Plato's  imaginary  Republic.  Adams  stood  in  this  respect 
midway  between  the  impracticable  stoic  and  the  too  flexible 
academician.  He  had  no  occasion  to  say,  as  the  Grecian 
orator  did,  that  if  he  had  sometimes  acted  contrary  to  him  • 
self,  he  had  never  acted  contrary  to  the  Republic ;  he  might 
justly  have  said,  as  the  noble  Roman  did,  '  I  have  rendered 
to  my  country  all  the  great  services  which  she  was  willing 
to  receive  at  my  hands,  and  I  have  never  harbored  a  thought 
concerning  her  that  was  not  divine.' 

"  More  fortunate  than  Cicero,  who  fell  a  victim  of  civil 
wars  which  he  could  not  avert,  Adams  was  permitted  to  linger 
on  the  earth,  until  the  generations  of  that  future  age,  for 
for  whom  he  had  lived  and  to  whom  he  had  appealed  from 
the  condemnation  of  contemporaries,  came  up  before  the 
curtain  which  had  shut  out  his  sight,  and  pronounced  over 
him,  as  he  was  sinking  into  the  grave,  their  judgment  of 
approval  and  benediction. 

"  The  distinguished  characteristics  of  his  life  were  BENEFI- 
CENT LABOR  and  PERSONAL  CONTENTMENT.  He  never  sought 
wealth,  but  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  mankind.  Yet, 
by  thB  practice  of  frugality  and  method,  he  secured  the 
enjoyment  of  dealing  forth  continually  ne  stinted  charities, 
and  died  in  affluence.  He  never  solicited  place  or  prefer- 
ment, and  had  no  partisan  combinations  or  even  connections ; 
yet  he  received  honors  which  eluded  the  grasp  of  those  who 
formed  parties,  rewarded  friends,  and  proscribed  enemies ; 
and  he  filled  a  longer  period  of  varied  and  distinguished 
service  than  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  other  citizen.  In 
every  stage  of  this  progress  he  was  CONTENT.  He  was  con- 
tent to  be  President,  minister,  representative,  or  citizen. 

*'  Stricken  in  the  midst  of  this  service,  in  the  very  act  of 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  171 

rising  to  debate,  he  fell  into  the  arms  of  the  conscript  fathers 
of  the  Republic.  A  long  lethargy  supervened  and  oppressed 
his  senses.  Nature  rallied  the  wasting  powers,  on  the  verge 
of  the  grave,  for  a  very  brief  period.  But  it  was  long  enough 
for  him.  The  rekindled  eye  showed  that  the  re-collected 
mind  was  clear,  calm,  and  vigorous.  His  weeping  family, 
and  his  sorrowing  compeers  were  there.  He  surveyed  the 
scene  and  knew  at  once  its  fatal  import.  He  had  left  no 
duty  unperformed  ;  he  had  no  wish  unsatisfied  ;  no  ambition 
unattained  ;  no  regret,  no  sorrow,  no  fear,  no  remorse.  He 
could  not  shake  off  the  dews  of  death  that  gathered  on  his 
brow.  He  could  not  pierce  the  thick  shades  that  rose  up 
before  him.  But  he  knew  that  eternity  lay  close  to  the 
shores  of  time.  He  knew  that  his  Redeemer  lived.  Elo- 
quence, even  in  that  iiour.  inspired  mm  with  nis  ancieni 
sublimity  or  utterance.  -THIS,  said  the  dying  man,  'THIS 
JB  THE  END  OB  EARTH.  He  paused  tor  a  moment,  and  tnen 
added,  'I  AM  CONTENT.'  Angels  might  well  draw  aside 
the  curtains  of  the  skies  to  look  down  on  such  a  scene — a 
scene  that  approximated  even  to  that  scene  of  unapproach- 
able sublimity,  not  to  be  recalled  without  reverence,  when, 
in  mortal  agony,  ONE  who  spake  as  man  never  spake,  said. 

1  IT  IS  FINISHED  !' 

"  Only  two  years  after  the  birth  of  John  Quiricy  Adams, 
there  appeared,  on  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean  sea,  a 
human  spirit  newly  born,  endowed  with  equal  genius,  with- 
out the  regulating  qualities  of  justice  and  benevolence  which 
Adams  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  A  like  career 
opened  to  both — born  like  Adams,  a  subject  of  a  king — the 
child  of  more  genial  skies,  like  him,  became  in  early  life  a 
patriot  and  a  citizen  of  a  new  and  great  republic.  Like 
A.dams  he  lent  his  service  to  the  state  in  precocious  youth, 


172  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  in  its  hour  of  need,  and  won  its  confidence.  But  un 
like  Adams  he  could  not  wait  the  dull  delays  of  slow  and 
laborious,  but  sure  advancement.  He  sought  power  by  the 
hasty  road  that  leads  through  fields  of  carnage,  and  he  be- 
came, like  Adams,  a  supreme  magistrate,  a  Consul.  But 
there  were  other  Consuls.  He  was  not  content.  He  thrust 
them  aside,  and  was  Consul  alone.  Consular  power  was  too 
short.  He  fought  new  battles,  and  was  Consul  for  life. 
But  power,  confessedly  derived  from  the  people,  must  be 
exercised  in  obedience  to  their  will,  and  must  be  resigned  to 
them  again,  at  least  in  death.  He  was  not  content.  He 
desolated  Europe  afresh,  subverted  the  republic,  imprisoned 
the  patriarch  who  presided  over  Rome's  comprehensive  See, 
and  obliged  him  to  pour  on  his  head  the  sacred  oil  that  made 
the  persons  of  kings  divine,  and  their  right  to  reign  inde- 
feasible. He  was  an  Emperor.  But  he  saw  around  him  a 
mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  not  ennobled ;  whose  humble 
state  reminded  him,  and  the  world,  that  he  was  born  a  ple- 
beian ;  and  he  had  no  heir  to  wait  impatient  for  the  impe- 
rial crown.  He  scourged  the  earth  again,  and  again  for- 
tune smiled  on  him  even  in  his  wild  extravagance.  He  be- 
stowed kingdoms  and  principalities  upon  his  kindred — put 
away  the  devoted  wife  of  his  youthful  days,  and  another,  a 
daughter  of  Hapsburgh's  imperial  house,  joyfully  accepted 
his  proud  alliance.  Offspring  gladdened  his  anxious  sight ; 
a  diadem  was  placed  on  its  infant  brow,  and  it  received  the 
homage  of  princes,  even  in  its  cradle.  Now  he  was  indeed 
a  monarch — a  legitimate  monarch — a  monarch  by  divine 
appointment — the  first  of  an  endless  succession  of  monarchs. 
But  there  were  other  monarchs  who  held  sway  in  the  earth. 
He  was  not  content.  He  would  reign  with  his  kindred  alone. 
He  gathered  new  and  greater  armies — from  his  own  land — 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  173 


from  subjugated  lands.  He  called  forth  the  young 
brave  —  ^ne  from  every  household  —  from  the  Pyrenees  to 
Zuyder  Lee  —  from  Jura  to  the  Ocean.  He  marshaled  them 
into  ]'  Ag  and  majestic  columns,  and  went  forth  to  seize  that 
universal  dominion,  which  seemed  almost  within  his  grasp. 
But  ambition  had  tempted  fortune  too  far. 

"The  nations  of  the  earth  resisted,  repelled,  pursued, 
surrounded  him.  The  pageant  was  ended.  The  crown  fell 
from  his  presumptuous  head.  The  wife  who  had  wedded 
him  in  his  pride,  forsook  him  when  the  hour  of  fear  came 
upon  him.  His  child  was  ravished  from  his  sight.  His 
kinsmen  were  degraded  to  their  first  estate,  and  he  was  no 
longer  Emperor,  nor  Consul,  nor  General,  nor  even  a  citi- 
zen, but  an  exile  and  a  prisoner,  on  a  lonely  island,  in  the 
midst  of  the  wild  Atlantic.  Discontent  attended  him  there. 
The  wayward  man  fretted  out  a  few  long  years  of  his  yet 
unbroken  manhood,  looking  off  at  the  earliest  dawn  and  in 
evening's  latest  twilight,  towards  that  distant  world  that 
had  only  just  eluded  his  grasp.  His  heart  corroded.  Death 
came,  not  unlocked  for,  though  it  came  even  then  unwel- 
come. He  was  stretched  on  his  bed  within  the  fort  which 
constituted  his  prison.  A  few  fast  and  faithful  friends 
stood  around,  with  the  guards  who  rejoiced  that  the  hour  of 
relief  from  long  and  wearisome  watching  was  at  hand.  As 
his  strength  wasted  away,  delirium  stirred  up  the  brain 
from  its  long  and  inglorious  inactivity.  The  pageant  of 
ambition  returned.  He  was  again  a  Lieutenant,  a  General, 
a  Consul,  an  Emperor  of  France.  He  filled  again  the 
throne  of  Charlemagne.  His  kindred  pressed  around  him 
again,  re-invested  with  the  pageant  of  royalty.  The  daughter 
of  the  long  line  of  kings  again  stood  proudly  by  his  side, 
and  the  sunny  face  of  his  cLild  shone  out  from  beneath  the 


174  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

,iiadem  that  encircled  its  flowing  locks.  The  marshals  of 
the  Empire  awaited  his  command.  The  legions  of  the  old 
guard  were  in  the  field,  their  scarred  faces  rejuvenated,  and 
their  lanks,  thinned  in  many  battles,  replenished.  Russia, 
Prussia,  Austria.  Denmark,  and  England,  gathered  their 
mighty  hosts  to  give  him  battle.  "Once  more  he  mounted 
hie  impatient  charger,  and  rushed  forth  to  conquest.  He 
waved  his  sword  aloft,  and  cried  "  TETE  D'ARMEE."  The 
feverish  vision  broke — the  mockery  was  ended.  The  silver 
cord  was  loosed,  and  the  warrior  fell  back  upon  his  bed  a 
lifeless  corpse.  Thin  was  the  end  of  earth.  The  Corxican 
was  not  content. 

"STATESMEN  and  CITIZENS!  the  contrast  suggests 
its  own  impressive  moral." 

This  is  a  magnificent  eulogmm.  In  it.  we  may  see  Jolm 
^umcy  Adams  from  the  loftiest  point  ot  view.  But  in  tne 
following  description  and  anecdotes,  from  the  "  Reminis- 
cences" of  the  venerable  Stansbury,  we  may  see  the  man  as 
he  appeared  among  his  friends  and  foes,  lofty  and  noble,  but 
with  frailties : 

"  It  was  my  privilege  to  be  present  at  the  inauguration  of 
Mr.  Adams.  I  witnessed  the  ceremony  then  for  the  first 
time,  though  I  have  seen  it  since  that  seven  times  repeated. 
The  ceremony  itself  is  of  the  simplest  kind ;  deriving  its 
solemnity  from  the  nature  and  the  source  of  the  authority 
conferred,  together  with  the  momentous  consequences  inse- 
parable from  its  assumption.  A  greater  contrast,  in  all 
other  respects,  can  scarcely  be  conceived  than  that  between 
a  coronation  in  Europe  and  the  inauguration  of  an  American 
President ;  and,  doubtless,  to  diplomatic  eyes,  that  have 
witnessed  the  pompous  accompaniments  of  the  one,  the 
other  may  a.ppear  a  petty  affair.  Not  so  to  the  lover  of  free 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  175 

representative  government ;  in  his  sight  the  spectacle  is  one 
of  the  most  august  that  can  be  conceived,  pregnant  with 
every  source  of  interest,  and  suggestive  of  a  thousand  train* 
of  solemn  thought.  In  the  case  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  cere- 
mony took  place  in  the  representatives'  hall,  though  ever 
since  that  time  it  has  been  performed  on  the  eastern  portico 
of  the  capitol,  or  on  a  platform  in  front  of  it.  The  original 
intention  of  the  great  rotunda,  which  occupies  the  central 
portion  of  that  vast  building,  was  that  the  Presidents  of  the 
republic  should  on  that  spot  be  inducted  into  office ;  but,  in 
practice,  this  was  found  impossible,  and  that  for  several 
reasons.  In  the  first  place  the  dimensions  of  the  saloon 
would  not  contain  a  tenth  part  of  the  assembly  always  ga- 
thered on  such  occasions.  The  rotunda  is  not  a  hundred 
feet  in  diameter,  while  the  auditory  collected  often  exceeds 
twenty  thousand  people.  Then,  in  the  second  place,  the 
dome  which  covers  that  apartment,  though  very  lofty  and 
crowned  with  a  large  lantern  above,  occasions  such  an  echo 
that  the  mere  stamping  of  your  foot  on  the  stone  floor  pro- 
duces a  reverberation  like  thunder,  which  lasts  for  many 
seconds.  When  I  took  my  little  boy  into  this  magnificent 
chamber  for  the  first  time,  while  his  childish  eye  was  lifted 
in  wonder  to  the  vaulted  dome,  broken  into  pannel-work 
und  terminating  in  a  rich  gilded  border  surrounding  the 
base  of  the  lantern  at  the  top,  I  made  the  experiment  of 
stamping  on  the  floor ;  he  instantly  cried  out  in  terror,  and 
made  his  way  to  the  door,  and  no  persuasions  could  induce 
him  to  enter  it  again.  '  I  feared  of  the  ceiling,'  was  the 
invariable  reason  by  which  he  justified  his  refusal. 

"  The  mention  of  the  rotunda  and  its  beautiful  ceiling, 
reminds  me  of  an  act  of  presumptuous  folly  of  which  I  was 
onco  guilty,  but  of  which,  on  reflection,  I  am  ashamed.  I 


176  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Jiad  retul,  when  a  boy,  about  the  '  whispering  gallery/  in  St 
Paul's,  London,  and  the  account  made  a  wonderful  impres- 
sion on  my  youthful  curiosity.  It  is  said  that  the  faintest 
whisper,  breathed  on  one  side  of  a  gallery  which  surrounds 
the  upper  part  of  the  dome  of  that  noble  structure,  is  dis- 
tinctly audible  on  the  other ;  the  exact  distance  of  which  I 
have  forgotten.  Thinking  of  this,  one  day,  as  I  stood  con- 
templating the  dome  of  our  rotunda,  the  idea  struck  me  that 
very  possibly  the  same  phenomenon  might  be  produced  in 
here  as  in  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's.  The  diameter  of  the 
circle,  however,  was  so  much  greater  that  this  was  at  least 
doubtful.  I  determined,  however,  on  making  the  experi- 
ment. It  happened  that  the  walls  of  the  building  were  just 
then  being  painted,  (for  such  is  the  porous  nature  of  the  sand- 
stone, of  which  the  whole  Capitol  is  built,  that  it  requires 
at  the  cost  of  some  five  thousand  dollars  or  more  a  coat  of 
paint  every  few  years,)  and  the  ladder  of  one  of  the  painters 
was  standing  with  its  foot  on  the  stone  floor  of  the  room, 
and  its  top  leaning  against  a  broad  stone  cornice  which  sur- 
rounds the  apartment  just  where  the  arch  of  the  dome  begins 
to  spring.  A  workman  was  then  at  the  top.  I  mounted  the 
ladder ;  and,  on  reaching  the  cornice,  found  it  to  be  about 
two  feet  broad,  perhaps  a  little  more,  not  level  but  shelving 
slightly  inward  toward  the  centre.  There  was  nothing  to 
hold  by.  The  wall  above  was  of  smooth  stone,  and  the  hard 
stone  floor  was  some  thirty  feet  below.  I  resolved,  however, 
to  venture ;  and,  explaining  to  the  astonished  workman  what 
I  wanted  to  ascertain,  asked  him  to  place  his  ear  against  the 
wall,  and  when  I  was  directly  opposite  to  him  on  the  other 
side,  to  try  whether  he  could  hear  what  I  should  whisper. 
I  found  that  the  only  way  to  get  safely  round  was  not  to  look 
down  ;  accordingly  I  kept  my  eye  looking  straight  forward, 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  177 

and  with  a  bold  and  rapid  step  I  went  on,  slightly  touching 
the  wall  with  my  left  hand. — Happily  I  reached  the  other 
side  in  safety,  and  putting  my  mouth  against  the  wall,  uttered, 
in  a  very  low  whisper,  the  words — 

"  '  Do  you  hear  me  ?' 

"  Instantly  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  man  in  reply — 

"  '  Yes,  sir,  I  hear  you  plainly.' 

"  The  span  across  is  about  ninety-four  or  ninety-five  feet. 
A  whisper,  spoken  with  the  face  turned  from  the  wall  is,  I 
need  not  say,  totally  inaudible ;  but  spoken  against  the  wall, 
it  is  distinctly  reverberated  to  the  opposite  focus,  and  is  there 
easily  and  plainly  heard.  I  completed  the  circle  getting 
safely  back  to  the  ladder,  and  so  proud  did  I  feel  of  the  fool- 
hardy feat  I  had  performed,  that  I  walked,  with  more  con- 
fidence and  increased  rapidity,  completely  round  a  second 
time.  By  the  indulgence  of  a  merciful  Providence,  this 
tempting  of  his  care  produced,  to  me,  not  the  slightest  injury 
or  inconvenience ;  but  the  close  of  my  adventure  had  nearly 
lost  the  life  of  an  honest  man.  The  ladder  was  long,  ana 
the  motion  of  a  person  ascending  or  descending  caused  it  to 
vibrate  in  no  very  pleasing  manner.  About  half  way  down 
was  a  board  resting,  at  one  end,  on  the  ladder,  and  at  the 
other  on  a  narrow  ledge  surrounding  a  sunken  panel  in  the 
wall.  On  this  board,  thus  stretched  across,  was  seated  a 
painter  engaged  in  the  process  of  laying  color  on  the  pa- 
nelled wall.  The  vibration  of  the  ladder  slightly  drew  the 
board  outwards  from  the  wall ;  and,  before  this  effect  was 
perceived  by  either  of  us,  it  had  nearly  drawn  it  quite  off  the 
ledge.  Just  then,  fortunately,  I  had  reached  the  bottom,  and 
the  action  ceased.  This  alone  prevented  my  unwarrantable 
gratification  of  curiosity  from  ending  in  manslaugh  ter.  When 
I  found  in  what  danger  my  fellow  man  had  been  placed,  by 


178  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  indulgence  of  a  mad  freak,  my  heart  smote  me,  and  1 
inly  vowed  never  again  to  be  guilty  of  such  a  tempting  of 
Providence. 

"  But,  to  return  from  this  digression.  The  rotunda  being 
found  unfit  for  the  purpose,  the  hall  of  representatives  was 
resorted  to,  as  the  next  largest  apartment  in  the  building ; 
but  this,  on  trial,  was  found  to  deprive  so  many  who  were 
eagerly  desirous  of  witnessing  the  sight,  that,  on  the  next 
occasion,  which  was  the  inauguration  of  President  Jackson, 
recourse  was  had  to  the  eastern  portico,  and  the  ceremony 
being  performed  and  the  inaugural  address  being  delivered 
between  the  central  columns,  the  audience  occupied  the  steps, 
the  wide  stone  platforms  on  each  side  of  them,  and  then  the 
wide  open  space  stretching  from  the  foot  of  the  steps  to  the 
iron  fence  opposite,  inclosing  the  public  grounds ;  affording 
ample  room  for  the  immense  concourse  attending;  though 
on  that  memorable  occasion,  the  crowd  overflowed  into  the 
grounds  beyond. 

"  Mr.  Adams,  as  I  have  said,  took  his  oath  of  office  in  the  hall 
of  the  house  of  representatives.  He  appeared  solemnly  and 
deeply  moved  by  the  occasion.  His  education,  in  the  land  of 
the  Pilgrims,  could  not  fail  to  impress  on  his  heart  and  mind 
the  solemn  nature  of  that  too-often  slighted  thing,  an  OATH. 
The  weighty  nature  of  the  trust  he  was  about  to  assume  ;  the 
solemn  appeal  to  a  present  God,  the  King  of  the  Universe, 
now  his  unseen  Witness,  hereafter  to  be  his  righteous  Judge-^- 
seemed  to  fill,  as  it  ought,  every  faculty  of  his  soul.  As  he 
repeated  the  words,  at  the  dictation  of  the  chief  justice,  there 
was  a  slight  tremor  in  the  loud,  sharp  tone  of  his  voice,  which 
bore  honorable  testimony  that  he  felt  and  fully  appreciated 
what  he  was  doing,  and  it  sent  a  corresponding  thrill  of  so- 
lemnity through  the  auditory.  Among  these  were  some  of 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  179 


. 


his  deadliest  enemies ;  several  of  whom  commenced  the  war 
upon  his  administration  before  he  had  done  either  good  or 
evil,  and  one  of  whom  boldly  avowed  that  if,  in  his  adminis- 
tration of  the  Presidency,  he  should  be  as  pure  as  the  Angel 
Gabriel,  it  must  and  should  be  put  down.  There  were  others, 
however,  just  as  ardently  in  his  favor — I  will  not  say  as 
ardently  as  his  friends,  for  it  is  confessedly  true  that  Mr. 
Adams  had  not  the  faculty  of  conciliating  warm  personal 
attachments.  His  election  was  rejoiced  in,  rather  as  an  act 
of  justice  to  the  North,  as  the  triumph  of  a  certain  set  of 
principles  and  of  a  particular  line  of  policy,  than  as  the  per- 
sonal victory  of  the  man. 

"  Mr.  Adams's  temperament  was  peculiar,  his  manner  and 
address  cold,  if  not  repulsive,  and  his  mode  of  shaking  hands, 
especially,  so  much  so,  that  it  attained  an  unenviable  celebrity 
as  'the  pump-handle  shake.'  He  had  been  much  abroad, 
nad  seen  mankind,  and  appeared  not  to  trust  them.  He 
flattered  no  man,  and  was  not  to  be  cajoled  by  flattery  from 
others.  An  old  diplomatist  himself,  he  was  proof  against 
all  the  soft  reproaches  of  the  diplomatists  of  other  govern- 
ments. They  could  make  nothing  of  him.  He  listened  to 
their  polite  speeches,  smiled,  and  coldly  bowed,  but  then 
went  to  business.  His  keen  and  piercing  eye  was  kept 
steadily  ad  rem.  I  have  often  compared  him  to  a  slumbering 
volcano,  covered  deep  in  snow.  Beneath  the  co1  iest  manners, 
he  possessed  a  depth  and  a  power  of  passion  as  great  as  I 
ever  witnessed  in  any  human  being.  It  seemed  as  if  his  soul 
glowed  with  an  intensity  precisely  proportioned  to  the  icy 
exterior  which  he  presented  to  a  stranger.  This  was  not 
so  fully  developed  during  his  Presidency  as  afterwards, 
when  he  came  into  the  house  of  representatives.  There  his 
passions  were  called  out  into  open  plaj-,  and  they  often  rose 


180  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

into  a  perfect  storm.  Nor  was  that  tempest  the  mere  explo- 
sion of  a  fiery  temperament,  which  bursts  into  a  momentary 
flame  '  and  straight  is  cold  again.'  In  him  the  fires  burnt 
on,  and,  though  the  outward  brightness  might  seem  to  sub- 
side, uncover  the  furnace,  and  you  would  find  them  there 
intense  as  ever,  and  ready  for  a  fresh  conflagration.  When 
attacked,  or  reflected  on,  he  kept  it  in  memory  ;  and  the  first 
moment  the  occasion  presented,  never  failed  to  repay,  and 
with  a  fearful  accumulation  of  interest.  He  was  one  of  the 
last  men  a  prudent  man  would  assail  in  a  deliberative  body. 
He  was  a  most  able  debater.  Skilled  in  dialectics,  a  prac- 
tised, ready,  and  forcible  speaker,  with  a  piercing  voice,  an 
iron  memory,  and  such  an  array  of  facts  on  every  subject 
he  handled,  as  rendered  him  one  of  the  most  formidable  ad- 
versaries any  man  could  provoke.  Staunch  to  his  purpose, 
not  to  be  baffled,  not  to  be  wearied,  he  pressed  his  point 
with  a  pertinacity  and  persevering  vigor,  both  of  intellect 
and  passion,  that  was  rarely  withstood. 

"  One  thing  which  powerfully  helped  him  in  the  duties  of 
his  office  was  his  habits  of  indefatigable  application.  So  far 
as  it  was  practicable,  he  read  over  all  the  papers  connected 
with  every  question  submitted  to  him.  He  trusted  to  no 
man's  representations  where  he  could  see  with  his  own  eyes. 
I  have  seen,  in  his  business  room,  in  the  presidential  mansion, 
a,  table  at  least  twenty  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide,  covered 
thickly  with  papers,  in  bundles  to  the  depth  of  a  foot,  all  of 
which  he  would  at  least  look  at,  and  the  more  important  of 
which  he  would  read  through.  To  get  time  for  this,  he  rose 
before  the  sun,  and  sat  up  late  at  night.  He  had  two  excel- 
lent preparations  for  business,  one  was  his  constant  habit  of 
bathing  in  the  Potomac  by  dawn  of  day ;  the  other,  and  far 
better  one,  was,  to  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  before  he 


JOHN  QUINCT  ADAMS. 


181 


touched  a  paper.  Gentlemen  have  told  me  that  they  often 
tried  to  anticipate  the  President  in  his  morning  bath,  but 
never  could  succeed ;  come  as  early  as  they  would,  the  old 
man  was  in  the  river,  his  bald-head  ducking  and  diving  like 
a  sea  fowl,  and  all  of  his  motions  indicating  the  lively  enjoy- 
ment he  experienced  from  a  play  in  his  favorite  element, 
lie  was  an  excellent  swimmer,  and  as  much  at  home  in  the 
water  as  a  duck. 

"And,  as  he  opened  the  employments  of  each  day  by 
reading  his  Bible,  so  he  closed  them  with  the  repetition  of 
that  well-known  prayer  of  children,  which  had  been  taught 
him  in  his  infancy,  by  his  mother : 

'  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 
I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  life  to  keep; 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  take.' 

"  In  this  simple  and  touching  observance,  I  presume  he 
stands  alone  among  all  Presidents,  kings  or  other  rulers  of 
the  earth.  To  me  it  seems  a  beautiful  and  affecting  sight 
to  behold  a  man  so  eminent  in  every  department  of  human 
attainment,  occupying,  too,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most 
arduous  positions  in  human  society,  bowing  his  venerable 
locks  and  repeating  at  three  score  and  ten  the  simple  prayer 
of  his  childhood.  The  infidel,  the  statesman,  the  party  poli- 
tician, the  votary  of  pleasure,  might  smile  at  the  thought ; 
it  would  be  better  to  imitate  than  to  smile.  Simple  as  the 
little  prayer  may  be,  it  goes  to  the  deepest  want  of  our  qpmmon 
humanity. 

"  Mr.  Adams,  like  his  illustrious  relative  of  revolutionary 
memory,  was  of  low  stature :  he  was  not  as  heavily  built  as 
his  father,  and  possessed  a  firmer  frame,  and  more  enduring 


182  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

» 

constitution,     His  complexion  was  pale,  his  eye  bright  and 
piercing,  and  surmounted  by  a  brow  which,  though  on  its 
outward  part  unusually  elevated,  was  drawn  down  toward  the 
nose,  and  when  he  was  excited  it  gave  his  looks  a  terrible 
severity.     One  of  his  eyes,  however,  was  affected  with  a 
disease  in  the  lachrymatory  gland,  which  caused  it  constantly 
to  run,  as  with  tears ;  and  this  was  connected  with  a  de- 
fluction  from  the  brain,  which  troubled  him  all  his  life,  and 
was  sometimes  so  copious  as  to  occasion  serious  embarrass- 
ment in  public  speaking.     His  sight,  notwithstanding,  was 
so  unusually  good  that  he  never  used  spectacles  to  the  day 
of  his  death.     There  was,  also,  a  stiffness  about  the  joint 
of  the  middle  finger  of  his  right  hand,  which  prevented  his 
holding  his  pen  as  other  men  do,  and  compelled  him  to  use 
a  sort  of  thimble  to  aid  him  in  retaining  it  in  its  place.     He 
wrote  very  much  as  the  Chinese  do,  and  it  occasioned  him 
much  labor ;  yet  he  was  always  writing,  and  left  behind  him 
a  vast  number  of  volumes  in  MS.     He  wrote  slowly,  with  a 
square,  heavy  hand,  but  as  legible  as  print.     It  is  said  that 
men's  handwriting  is  an  index  of  their  character  ;  and  if  art 
did  not  interfere  to  control  nature,  it  would  doubtless  be  true 
It  is,  indeed,  true  to  a  great  extent,  notwithstanding.  (I  knew 
once  a  very  passionate  man  who  stuttered  vehemently ;  and 
his  letters  were  wrote  by  jerks,  and  spattered  all  over,  so  as 
to  be  scarce  legible.)     In  Mr.  Adams's  case  the  remark  holds 
good ;  for  his  writing  has  an  air  of  clearness,  firmness,  bold- 
ness, exactitude,  and  laborious  diligence,  which  well  corres- 
ponds with  the  nature  and  habits  of  the  man.     Owing  to  his 
early  training  in  foreign  courts,  and  his  long  familiarity  with 
public  men,  his  mind  was  stored  with  an  overflowing  copious- 
ness of  anecdote,  which  rendered  his  conversation  a  perpetual 
feast  of  entertainment  and  instruction.     He  seemed  familiar 


JOHN  QUINCT  ADAMS.  183 

mth  the  character  and  history  of  every  prominent  man  in 
Europe,  and  his  anecdotes  of  their  private  manners  and  per- 
sonal habits  were  piquant  and  graphic  in  the  highest  degree. 
"  He  relished  a  good  dinner,  and  when  the  cloth  was  re- 
moved it  was  a  treat  to  be  near  him.  He  loved  old  wine, 
and  would  drink  more  of  it,  without  injury,  than  most  men 
of  his  years.  It  never  produced  any  '  innovation'  in  his 
brain,  its  sole  apparent  effect  being  to  banish  his  natural 
coldness  of  manner,  and  produce  a  cheerful  excitement  that 
made  him  the  best  of  company.  Mr.  Adams  was  no  poet, 
but  he  wrote  respectable  verse,  and  with  much  facility.  His 
genius  tended  to  satire,  and  to  him  were  ascribed  some  line:* 
upon  Jefferson,  replete  with  a  contemptuous  bitterness  wor 
thy  of  Churchill.  Their  bitterness  gave  them  currency 
and  for  a  time  they  were  in  every  body's  mouth.  '  Horneu 
frogs,'  '  mountains  of  salt,'  '  prairie  dogs,'  and  '  dusky  Sally' 
figured  in  them  with  great  effect.  His  poem,  entitled  4  Der 
mot  McMorough,'  (and  which  he  had  printed  for  gratuituous 
distribution  among  his  friends,)  was  supposed  to  be  a  satire 
on  General  Jackson ;  though  Mr.  Adams  himself  always 
denied  the  charge.  It  was  a  puzzle  to  his  friends,  and  the 
subject  of  some  merriment  among  his  adversaries.  I  do  not 
think  it  added  much  to  his  reputation.  He  was  greatly  tor- 
mented, during  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  by  the  solicitations 
of  young  ladies  to  '  write  something  in  their  albums ;'  and 

v  O 

his  good  nature  and  patience  under  the  affliction  was,  to 
those  who  knew  the  irritable  character  of  the  man,  a  matter 
of  some  surprise.  But  Mr.  Adams  wad  irritable  only  when 
attacked,  or  contradicted ;  to  ladies  he  was  ever  polite  and 
obliging,  and  especially  to  the  young  he  was  very  kind.  He 
retained  much  of  the  simplicity  of  his  ^arly  New  England 
habits,  amidst  all  the  show  which  surrounded  him.  You 


184  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

might  see  him  on  a  cold  winter's  morning,  in  his  plair 
Boston  wrapper,  a  half-worn  hat  upon  his  head,  a  pair  of 
stout  shoes,  his  hands  enveloped  in  large  thick  pointed 
mittens,  of  white  wool,  knit  for  him  at  his  home. 

"  It  was  said  of  Lord  Chesterfield  that  he  could  deny  a 
favor  with  such  an  inimitable  show  of  candor  and  kindness 
as  to  send  the  applicant  away  better  pleased  with  him  than 
with  many  another  great  man  who  would  grant  the  request. 
I  believe  this  remark  was  never  applied  to  Mr.  Adams.  I 
once  heard  Colonel  Trumbull,  the  painter,  describe  an  in- 
terview with  the  President,  which,  it  was  evident,  had  made 
him  Adams's  enemy  for  the  rest  of  his  days.  Trumbull 
was  every  way  a  distinguished  man.  He  had  been  in  the 
military  family  of  Washington,  with  whom  he  was  a  favorite. 
He  was  eminent  as  a  painter,  and  that  in  the  highest  walk 
of  the  art.  He  had  conceived  the  idea  of  embodying  the 
most  striking  scenes  of  the  revolution,  in  a  series  of  histo- 
rical pictures,  which  should,  at  the  same  time,  with  their 
actions,  preserve  and  perpetuate  the  personal  likenesses  of 
the  actors  ;  and  the  success  of  the  design  is  evinced  in  the 
four  great  paintings  which  occupy  the  panels  in  the  wall 
of  the  rotunda  of  the  capitol.  To  prepare  himself  for  so 
laborious  and  dim  cult  a  work  he  took  many  portraits  from 
the  living  actors  in  the  stirring  scene,  while  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  the  struggle,  or  when  they  had  retired  to  pri- 
vate life.  But  some  of  them  had  left  this  country  at  the 
peace,  and  returned  to  their  own.  Of  these  he  collected 
such  likenesses  as  he  could  obtain  here ;  but,  to  complete 
his  design,  it  became  necessary  to  visit  Europe,  and  there 
catch  the  features  of  many  of  the  prominent  men  who  had 
been  his  fellow  soldiers  during  the  war,  before  they  faded 
in  death,  and  were  lost  for  ever.  His  private  fortune,  how- 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS.  185 

ever,  would  ill  bear  the  expense  of  such  a  tour,  and  with  a 
view  to  diminish  it,  he  applied  to  President  Adams  for  a  free 
passage  in  a  frigate  that  was  then  soon  to  sail  for  England. 
He  thought  that  as  the  pictures  he  designed  to  paint  were 
of  a  national  character,  and  would  probably  become  public 
property,  he  was  entitled,  on  this  ground,  as  well  as  that  of 
his  revolutionary  services,  and  the  relation,  especially,  which 
Ke  had  borne  to  General  Washington,  to  solicit  such  a  favor. 
He  obtained  the  desired  interview,  and  modestly  made  his 
request.  One  line  from  under  the  President's  hand  would 
secure  the  object  The  President  heard  him  without  uttering 
a  word.  At  the  close,  his  brows  descended  with  that  omi- 
nous frown  which  boded  no  good  to  the  application :  he  sat 
in  deep  thought,  as  if  revolving  in  his  mi  id  his  power  to 
give  the  order,  and  the  expediency  of  granting  it.  It  was 
vrausing  to  see  Trumbull  caricature  the  severe  look,  con- 
tracted brows,  and  stern  mouth  of  Mr.  Adams  at  that  mo- 
ment. A  glance  was  enough  for  the  indignant  artist,  and 
without  another  word  passing  on  either  side,  he  took  his  hat 
and  withdrew. 

"  Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  a  statesman,  especially  in  a 
government  like  ours,  than  official  manners  of  this  descrip- 
tion. They  inflict,  on  proud  and  sensitive  natures,  wounds 
which  are  incurable.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  De  Witt 
Clinton  to  have  the  same  defect :  arid  the  defect  of  both 
•.vas  enjoyed  with  a  malignant  relish  that  mere  political 
opposition  never  could  have  inspired." 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 

THE  name  f  Andrew  Jackson  is  deeply  engraven  upon 
the  history  o.  the  United  States.  He  held  many  of  the 
most  respond  l>le  stations.  He  was  a  leader  in  times  of 
danger  and  difficulty,  and  served  his  country  in  the  council 
and  the  field.  His  course  Avas  always  decided  and  deter- 
mined, and  whether  men  approved  or  not,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  respect. 

The  parents  of  Andrew  Jackson  were  Irish.  His  father, 
Andrew,  the  youngest  son  of  his  family,  emigrated  to  Ame- 
rica about  the  year  1765,  bringing  with  him  two  sons,  Hugh 
and  Robert,  both  very  young. 

Landing  at  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  he  shortly 
afterwards  purchased  a  tract  of  land,  in  what  was  then 
called  the  Waxsaw  settlement,  about  forty-five  miles  above 
Camden  ;  at  which  place  the  subject  of  this  history  was 
born,  on  the  15th  of  March,  1767.  Shortly  after  his  birth, 
his  father  died,  leaving  three  sons  to  be  provided  for  by 
their  mother.  She  appears  to  have  been  an  exemplary 
woman,  and  to  have  executed  the  arduous  duties  which  had 
devolved  upon  her,  with  great  faithfulness  and  success.  To  the 
lessons  she  inculcated  on  the  youthful  minds  of  her  sons,  was, 
uo  doubt,  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  that  fixed  opposition  to 

187 


188  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

British  tyranny  and  oppression,  which  afterwards  so  much 
distinguished  them.  Often  would  she  spend  the  winter's 
night,  in  recounting  to  them  the  sufferings  of  their  grand 
father,  at  the  siege  of  Carrickfergus,  and  the  oppressions 
exercised  by  the  nobility  of  Ireland,  over  the  laboring  poor  ; 
impressing  it  upon  them,  as  their  first  duty,  to  expend  their 
lives,  if  it  should  become  necessary,  in  defending  and  sup- 
porting the  natural  rights  of  man. 

Inheriting  but  a  small  patrimony  from  their  father,  it 
was  impossible  that  all  the  sons  could  receive  an  expensive 
education.  The  two  eldest  were  therefore  only  taught  the 
rudiments  of  their  mother  tongue,  at  a  common  country 
school.  But  Andrew,  being  intended  by  his  mother  for  the 
ministry,  was  sent  to  a  flourishing  academy  in  the  Waxsaw 
meeting  house,  superintended  by  Mr.  Humphries.  Here  lie  was 
instructed  in  the  dead  languages,  and  continued  until  the 
revolutionary  war,  extending  its  ravages  into  that  section  of 
South  Carolina,  where  he  then  was,  rendered  it  necessary  that 
every  one  should  betake  himself  to  the  American  standard, 
seek  protection  with  the  enemy,  or  flee- his  country.  It  was 
not  an  alternative  that  admitted  of  much  deliberation.  The 
natural  ardor  of  his  temper,  deriving  encouragement  from 
recommendations  of  his  mother,  whose  feelings- were  not  less 
alive  on  the  occasion  than  his  own,  quickly  determined  him 
in  the  course  to  be  pursued ;  and  at  the  tender  age  of  four- 
teen, with  his  brother  Robert,  he  hastened  to  the  American 
camp,  and  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  country.  His  oldest 
brother,  who  had  previously  joined  the  army,  had  lost  his 
life  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  by  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather 
and  the  fatigues  of  the  day. 

Both  Andrew  and  Robert,  were,  at  this  period,  pretty 
acquainted  with  the  manual  exercise,  and  had  some 


\ 

ANDREW  JACKSON.  189 

idea  of  the  different  evolutions  of  thj  field,  having  been 
indulged  by  their  mother  in  attending  the  drill,  and  general 
musters. 

"  The  Americans  being  unequal,  as  well  by  the  inferiority 
of  their  numbers,  as  their  discipline,  to  engage  the  British 
army  in  battle,  retired  before  it,  into  the  interior  of  North 
Carolina ;  but  when  they  learned  that  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
crossed  the  Yadkin,  they  returned  in  small  detachments  tf, 
their  native  state.  On  their  arrival,  they  found  Lord  Raw- 
don  in  possession  of  Camden,  and  the  whole  country  around 
in  a  state  of  desolation.  The  British  commander  beirig 
advised  of  the  return  of  the  settlers  of  Waxsaw ;  Major 
Coffin  was  immediately  despatched  thither,  with  a  corps  of 
light  dragoons,  a  company  of  infantry,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  tories,  for  their  capture  and  destruction.  Hear- 
ing of  their  approach,  the  settlers,  without  delay,  appointed 
the  Waxsaw  meeting  house  as  a  place  of  rendezvous,  that 
they  might  the  better  collect  their  scattered  strength,  and 
concert  some  system  of  operations.  About  forty  of  them 
had  accordingly  assembled  at  this  point,  when  the  enemy 
approached,  keeping  the  tories,  who  were  dressed  in  the 
common  garb  of  the  country,  in  front,  whereby  this  little 
band  of  patriots  was  completely  deceived,  taking  them  for 
Captain  Nisbet's  company,  in  expectation  of  which  they  had 
been  waiting.  Eleven  of  them  were  taken  prisoners ;  the 
rest  with  difficulty  fled,  scattering  and  betaking  themselves 
tc  the  woods  for  concealment.  Of  those  who  thus  escaped, 
though  closely  pursued,  were  Andrew  Jackson  and  his  bro- 
ther, who,  entering  a  secret  bend  in  a  creek,  that  was  close 
at  hand,  obtained  a  momentary  respite  from  danger,  and 
avoided,  for  the  night,  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  The  next 
day.  however,  having  gone  to  a  neighboring  house,  for  the 


190  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

purpose  of  procuring  something  to  eat,  they  were  broken  in 
apon,  and  made  prisoners,  by  Coffin's  dragoons,  and  a  party 
of  tories  who  accompanied  them.  They  had  approached 
the  house  by  a  route  through  the  woods,  and  thereby  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  a  sentinel  who  had  been  posted  on  the  road. 

u  Being  placed  under  guard,  Andrew  was  ordered,  in  a 
?ery  imperious  tone,  by  a  British  officer,  to  clean  his  boots, 
which  had  become  muddied  in  crossing  a  creek.  This  order 
he,  with  the  courage  of  Caesar  among  the  pirates,  refused 
to  obey ;  alleging  that  he  looked  for  such  treatment  as  a 
prisoner  of  war  had  a  right  to  expect.  Incensed  at  his  re- 
fusal, the  officer  aimed  a  blow  at  his  head,  with  a  drawn 
sword,  which  would,  very  probably,  have  terminated  his  ex- 
istence, had  he  not  parried  its  effects  by  throwing  up  his 
left  hand,  on  which  he  received  a  severe  wound.  His  bro- 
ther, at  the  same  time,  for  a  similar  offence,  received  a  deep 
cut  on  the  head,  which  afterwards  occasioned  his  death. 
They  were  now  taken  to  jail,  where,  separated  and  confined, 
they  were  treated  with  marked  severity,  until  a  few  days 
after  the  battle  at  Camden,  when,  in  consequence  of  a  par- 
tial exchange,  effected  by  the  intercessions  and  exertions 
of  their  mother  and  Captain  Walker,  of  the  militia,  they 
were  both  released.  Captain  Walker  had,  in  a  charge  on 
the  rear  of  the  British  army,  succeeded  in  capturing  thir 
teen  prisoners,  whom  he  gave  in  exchange  for  seven  A  me 
ricans,  of  which  number  were  these  two  young  men. 

"  Robert,  during  his  confinement  in  prison,  had  suffered 
greatly ;  the  wound  on  his  head,  all  this  time,  having  never 
been  dressed,  was  followed  by  an  inflammation  of  the  brain, 
which,  in  a  few  days  after  his  liberation,  brought  him  to  the 
grave.  To  add  to  the  afflictions  of  Andrew,  his  mother, 
worn  down  by  grief,  and  her  incessant  exertions  to  provide 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  191 

clothing  and  other  comforts  for  the  suffering  prisoners,  who 
had  been  taken  from  her  neighborhood,  expired,  *in  a  few 
weeks  after  her  son,  near  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Charleston.  Andrew,  the  last  and  only  surviv- 
ing child,  confined  to  a  bed  of  sickness,  occasioned  by  the 
sufferings  he  had  been  compelled  to  undergo,  whilst  a  prisoner, 
and  by  getting  wet,  on  his  return  from  captivity,  was  thus 
left  in  the  wide  world,  without  a  human  being  with  whom  he 
could  claim  a  near  relationship.  The  small-pox  beginning, 
Ht  the  same  time,  to  make  its  appearance  upon  him,  had  well 
nigh  terminated  his  sorrows  and  his  existence. 

"  Having  at  length  recovered  from  his  complicated  afflic- 
tions, he  entered  upon  the  enjoyment  of  his  estate,  which, 
although  small,  would  have  been  sufficient,  under  prudent 
management,  to  have  completed  his  education,  on  the  liberal 
scale  which  his  mother  had  designed.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, he,  like  too  many  young  men,  sacrificing  future  pros- 
pects to  present  gratification,  expended  it  with  rather  too 
profuse  a  hand.  Coming,  at  length,  to  forsee  that  he  should 
be  finally  obliged  to  rely  on  his  own  exertions,  for  support 
and  success  in  life,  he  again  betook  himself  to  his  studies, 
with  increased  industry.  He  re-commenced  under  Mr.  M'- 
Culloch,  in  what  was  then  called  the  New  Acquisition,  near 
Hill's  iron  works.  Here  he  revised  the  languages,  devoting 
a  portion  of  his  time  to  a  desultory  course  of  studies. 

"  His  education  being  now  completed,  so  far  as  his  wasted 
patrimony,  and  the  opportunities  then  afforded  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  would  permit ;  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  acquiring  a  profession,  and  pre- 
paring himself  to  enter  on  the  busy  scenes  of  life.  The  pulpit, 
lor  which  he  had  been  designed  by  his  mother,  was  now  aban- 
doned for  the  bar ;  and,  in  the  winter  of  1784,  he  repaired 


192  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

to  Salisbury,  in  North  Carolina,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  law,  under  Spruce  M'Cay,  Esq.  (afterwards  one  of  the 
judges  of  that  state,)  and  continued  it  under  Colonel  John 
Stokes.  Having  remained  at  Salisbury  until  the  winter  of 
1786,  he  obtained  a  license  from  the  judges  to  practise,  and 
continued  in  the  state  until  the  spring  of  1788. 

"  The  observations  he  was  enabled,  during  this  time,  to 
make,  satisfied  him  that  this  state  presented  few  inducements 
to  a  young  attorney ;  and  recollecting  that  he  stood  a  solitary 
individual  in  life,  without  relations  to  aid  him  in  the  onset, 
when  innumerable  difficulties  arise  and  retard  success,  he  de- 
termined to  seek  a  new  country.  But  for  this,  he  might 
have  again  returned  to  his  native  state ;  but  the  death  of 
every  relation  he  had.  had  wiped  away  all  those  recollections 
and  circumstances  which  link  the  mind  to  the  place  of  its 
nativity.  The  western  parts  of  the  state  of  Tennessee  were, 
about  this  time,  often  spoken  of,  as  presenting  flattering  pros- 
pects to  adventurers.  He  immediately  determined  to  accom- 
pany Judge  M'Nairy  thither,  who  was  appointed  and  going 
out  to  hold  the  first  supreme  court  that  had  ever  sat  in  the 
state.  Having  reached  the  Holston,  they  ascertained  it 
would  be  impossible  to  arrive  at  the  time  appointed  for  the 
session  of  the  court ;  and  therefore  determined  to  remain  in 
that  country  till  fall.  They  re-commenced  their  journey  in 
October,  and,  passing  through  the  wilderness,  reached  Nash- 
ville in  the  same  month.  It  had  not  been  Jackson's  inten- 
tion, certainly,  to  make  Tennessee  the  place  of  his  future 
residence ;  his  visit  was  merely  experimental,  and  his  stay 
remained  to  be  determined,  by  the  advantages  that  might 
be  disclosed ;  but  finding,  soon  after  his  arrival,  that  a  con- 
siderable opening  was  offered  for  the  success  of  a  young  at- 
torney, he  determined  to  remain.  His  industry  and  atten- 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  193 

tion  soon  brought  him  forward,  and  introduced  him  to  a 
profitable  practice.  Shortly  afterwards,  he  was  appointed 
attorney  general  for  the  district,  in  which  capacity  he  con- 
tinued to  act  for  several  years. 

"  Indian  depredations  being  then  frequent  on  the  Cumber- 
land, every  man  became  a  soldier.  Unassisted  by  the  go- 
vernment, the  settlers  were  forced  to  rely  for  security  on 
their  own  bravery  and  exertions.  Although  young,  no  per- 
son was  more  distinguished  than  Andrew  Jackson,  in  defend- 
ing the  country  against  these  predatory  incursions  of  the 
savages,  who  continually  harassed  the  frontiers,  and  not 
unfrequently  approached  the  heart  of  the  settlements,  which 
were  thin,  but  not  widely  extended.  He  aided  alike  in 
garrisoning  the  forts,  and  in  pursuing  and  chastising  the 
enemy. 

"  In  the  year  1796,  having,  by  his  patriotism,  firmness, 
and  talents,  secured  to  himself  a  distinguished  standing  with 
all  classes,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  members  of  the  conven- 
tion, for  establishing  a  constitution  for  the  state.  His  good 
conduct  and  zeal  for  the  public  interest,  on  this  occasion, 
brought  him  more  conspicuously  to  view ;  and,  without  pro- 
posing or  soliciting,  he  was,  in  the  same  year,  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives,  in  congress,  for  the  state 
of  Tennessee.  The  following  year,  his  reputation  continuing 
to  increase,  and  every  bosom  feeling  &,  wish  to  raise  him  to 
still  higher  honors,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  senate  of 
the  United  States. 

"  The  state  of  Tennessee,  on  its  admission  into  the  Union, 
comprising  but  one  military  division,  and  General  Conway. 
who  commanded  it,  as  major-general,  dying  about  this  time, 
Jackson,  without  being  consulted  on  the  subject,  and  without, 
the  least  intimation  of  what  was  in  agitation,  was  chosen,  by 


194  LIVES  OF  THE  PKESIDENTS. 

the  field  officers,  to  succeed  him  ;  which  appointment  he  con 
tinued  to  hold,  until  May,  1815,  when  he  was  constituted  a 
major-general  in  the  United  States  service. 

"  Growing  tired  of  political  life,  for  the  intrigues  of  which 
ne  found  himself  unqualified,  and  having  for  two  years  voted 
in  the  minority  in  Congress,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  senate, 
in  1799.  To  this  measure  he  was  strongly  urged,  by  a  wish 
to  make  way  for  General  Smith,  who,  he  conjectured,  would, 
in  that  capacity,  be  able  to  render  more  important  services 
to  the  government  than  himself.  His  country,  unwilling 
that  his  talents  should  remain  inactive  and  unemployed, 
again  demanded  his  services.  Immediately  after  his  resig- 
nation, he  was  appointed  one  cf  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  state.  Sensibly  alive  to  the  difficulties  of  this 
station,  and  impressed  with  the  great  injuries  he  might  do 
to  suitors,  by  erroneous  decisions,  he  advanced  to  the  office 
with  reluctance,  and  in  a  short  time  resigned  it ;  leaving  it 
open  to  those,  who,  he  believed,  were  better  qualified  than 
himself,  to  discharge  its  intricate  and  important  duties. 

"  Determined  now  to  spend  his  life  in  tranquillity  and  re- 
tirement, he  settled  himself  on  an  elegant  farm,  ten  miles 
from  Nashville,  on  the  Cumberland  river ;  where,  for  seve- 
ral years,  he  enjoyed  all  the  comforts  of  domestic  and  social 
intercourse.  Abstracted  from  the  busy  scenes  of  public 
life,  surrounded  by  friends  whom  he  loved,  and  who  enter- 
tained for  him  the  highest  veneration  and  respect,  and 
blessed  with  an  affectionate  and  amiable  consort,  nothing 
Beemed  wanting  to  the  completion  of  that  happiness  he  so 
anxiously  desired  whilst  in  office.  But  a  period  approached, 
when  all  these  endearments  were  again  to  be  abandoned, 
for  the  duties  of  more  active  life."* 

*  Eaton. 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  195 

In  June,  1812,  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States 
against  Great  Britain.  Congress  authorized  the  President 
to  accept  the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers.  General 
Jackson  promptly  addressed  the  citizens  of  his  division,  and 
two  thousand  five  hundred  flocked  to  his  standard.  In  No- 
vember he  received  orders  to  descend  the  Mississippi,  for 
the  defence  of  the  lower  country,  which  was  threatened  by 
the  Indians,  aided  by  a  few  British  soldiers.  Descending 
the  Mississippi,  through  the  severities  of  the  season,  General 
Jackson  halted,  and  encamped  his  troops  near  Natchez. 
On  the  5th  of  January,  1813,  the  secretary  of  war  issued 
an  order  directing  him  to  dismiss  those  under  his  command, 
and  to  transfer  all  public  property  to  General  Wilkinson. 
The  clouds  of  war  had  blown  over  that  quarter,  and  it  was 
deemed  unnecessary  to  retain  the  men  in  service.  But 
surely  it  was  unfeeling  thus  to  discharge  them  afar  from 
their  homes  and  almost  destitute.  General  Jackson  deter- 
mined to  disobey  the  order,  and  to  march  his  army  back  to 
the  country  where  it  was  raised,  and  that,  too,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  United  States.  Wilkinson  and  others  attempted 
to  dissuade  the  general  from  his  purpose,  but  he  was  iron 
m  will.  The  quarter-master  was  obliged  to  provide  the 
means  of  transportation  for  the  sick,  and  after  some  toil 
and  hardship,  the  troops  were  safely  conducted  to  their 
homes.  The  President  of  the  United  States  approved  the 
course  pursued  by  General  Jackson,  and  directed  the  ex- 
penses to  be  paid.  In  this,  his  first  important  military  pro- 
ceeding, the  general  displayed  an  independent,  determined, 
and  humane  spirit. 

Soon  after  this  expedition,  the  artful  and  eloquent  Te- 
cumthe  visited  the  Indians  of  the  south,  and  incited  them 
to  join  the  great  confederacy  of  the  north.  Horrible  atro- 


196 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


cities  were  committed  along  the  frontiers  of  Tennessee 
and  G  eorgia.  The  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  gorged 
with  blood.  The  agent  of  the  general  government  sought 
redress  from  the  Indians,  and  some  of  the  principal  chiefs 
caused  the  murderers  to  be  put  to  death.  This  gave  rise  to 
a  civil  war  among  the  Indians,  but  by  far  the  largest  por- 
tion of  the  rei  men  resolved  upon  a  bloody  war  against  the 
whites.  Those  who  were  friendly  to  the  whites  were  forced 
to  take  refuge  in  the  frontier  forts.  The  garrison  of  Fort 
Mimms  was  surprised  and  massacred,  by  a  band  of  Creeks, 
led  by  the  famous  Weatherford.  Other  outrages  were  ex- 
pected to  follow,  and  the  settlers  fled  from  the  frontier. 

The  governor  of  Tennessee  now  issued  an  order  to  Gene- 
ral Jackson,  who  was  then  suffering  from  a  wound  received 
in  a  private  rencontre,  to  rendezvous  at  Fayetteville,  in  the 
shortest  possible  time,  two  thousand  volunteers,  while  Colo- 
nel Coffee  was  to  raise  a  large  body  of  mounted  men.  A 
vigorous  campaign  was  resolved  upon.  The  commanding 
general  issued  a  stirring  address  to  the  volunteers,  and  on 
the  7th  of  October,  arrived  in  camp.  Colonel  Coffee  was  at 
Huntsville,  covering  that  portion  of  the  country  with  his 
mounted  volunteers. 

Receiving  promises  that  ample  supplies  should  be  forwarded 
as  soon  as  possible,  General  Jackson  advanced  to  Thomp- 
son's creek,  and  there  encamped.  Here  he  was  beset  with 
difficulties.  The  supplies  were  not  forthcoming,  and  in 
spite  of  the  immense  exertions  of  the  general,  the  troops 
had  the  prospect  of  extreme  want  before  them.  However, 
General  Jackson,  receiving  information  that  the  Indians,/ 
in  great  force,  were  posted  on  the  Coosa,  at  Ten  Islands, 
distributed  his  small  stock  of  provisions,  and  marched 
against  the  eremy.  After  a  difficult  march,  it  was  ascer 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  197 

twined  that  the  Creeks  had  posted  themselves  at  Tallu^hat- 
chee.  There,  General  Coffee,  with  nine  hundred  men.  at- 
tacked them  on  the  2d  of  November,  1813,  and  aftei  a 
bloody  action,  entirely  defeated  them.  The  loss  of  the  In- 
dians was  very  severe,  while  Coffee  lost  but  few  of  his  men. 
The  detachment  then  rejoined  the  main  body  under  General 
Jackson. 

A  permanent  depot  was  established  at  the  Ten  Islands. 
Receiving  intelligence  that  the  Indians  were  concentrating 
their  forces  on  the  Talapoosa,  at  Fort  Talladega,  General  Jack- 
son resolved  at  once  to  proceed  against  them.  General  White 
was  ordered  to  protect  the  camp  at  Ten  Islands,  during  the 
absence  of  the  main  body.  At  midnight,  on  the  7th  of  De- 
cember, General  Jackson,  with  twelve  hundred  infantry  and 
eight  hundred  cava'ry,  commenced  his  march. 

In  this  expedition,  Jackson  used  the  utmost  circumspec- 
tion to  prevent  surprise  ;  marching  his  army,  as  was  his  con- 
stant custom,  in  three  columns,  so  that,  by  a  speedy  manoeuvre 
they  might  be  thrown  into  such  a  situation,  as  to  be  capable 
of  resisting  an  attack  from  any  quarter.  Having  judiciously 
encamped  his  men  on  an  eligible  piece  of  ground,  he  sent 
forward  two  of  the  friendly  Indians,  and  a  \vhite  man,  who 
had,  for  many  years,  been  detained  a  captive  in  the  nation, 
and  was  now  acting  as  interpreter,  to  reconnoitre  the  position 
of  the  enemy.  At  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  they  returned, 
with  information,  that  the  savages  were  posted  within  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  appeared  to  be  in  great  force ; 
but  they  had  not  been  able  to  approach  near  enough  to  as- 
certain either  their  numbers,  or  precise  situation.  Within 
an  hour  after  this,  a  runner  arrived  from  Turkey  town,  with 
a  letter  from  General  White,  stating,  that  after  having  taken 
up  the  line  of  march,  to  unite  at  Fort  Strother,  he-had  received 


198  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS 

orders  from  General  Cocke,  t»  change  his  course,  and  pro 
ceed  to  the  mouth  of  Chatuga  creek.  This  unexpected  and 
disagreeable  intelligence  filled  Jackson  with  astonishment  and 
apprehensions ;  and  dreading,  lest  the  enemy,  by  taking  a 
different  route,  should  attack  his  encampment  in  his  absence, 
he  determined  to  lose  no  time,  in  bringing  him  to  battle. 
Orders  were  accordingly  given  to  the  adjutant-general  to 
prepare  the  line,  and  by  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  army 
was  again  in  motion.  The  infantry  proceeded  in  three  co- 
lumns;  the  cavalry  in  the  same  order,  in  the  rear,  with 
flankers  on  each  wing.  The  advance,  consisting  of  a  com- 
pany of  artillerists,  with  muskets,  two  companies  of  riflemen, 
and  one  of  spies,  marched  about  four  hundred  yards  in  front, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Carroll,  the  inspector-gene- 
ral ;  with  orders,  after  commencing  the  action,  to  fall  back 
on  the  centre,  so  as  to  draw  the  enemy  after  them.  At  seven 
o'clock,  having  arrived  within  a  mile  of  the  position  they 
occupied,  the  columns  were  displayed  in  order  of  battle. 

"  About  eight  o'clock,  the  advance  having  arrived  within 
eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  who  were  concealed  in  a  thick 
shrubbery,  that  covered  the  margin  of  a  small  rivulet,  received 
a  heavy  fire,  which  they  instantly  returned  with  much  spirit. 
Agreeably  to  their  instructions,  they  fell  back  towards  the 
centre,  but  not  before  they  had  dislodged  the  enemy  from 
this  position.  The  Indians  now  screaming  and  yelling  hi- 
deously, rushed  forward  in  the  direction  of  General  Roberts's 
brigade ;  a  few  companies  of  which,  alarmed  by  their  num- 
bers and  yells,  fled  at  the  first  fire.  Jackson,  to  fill  the 
chasm  which  was  thus  created,  directed  the  regiment  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Bradley,  to  be  moved  up,  which,  from 
eomo  unaccountable  cause,  had  failed  to  advance,  in  a  line 
with  the  others,  and  now  occvpied  a  position  in  rear  of  the 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  199 

centre  i  Bradley,  however,  to  whom  this  order  was  given  by 
one  of  the  staff1,  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  execute  it  in 
time,  alleging,  he  Avas  determined  to  remain  on  the  eminence 
which  he  then  possessed,  until  the  enemy  should  approach 
and  attack  him.  Owing  to  this  failure,  in  the  volunteer  regi* 
ment,  it  became  necessary  to  dismount  the  reserve,  which, 
with  great  firmness,  met  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  rapidly  moving  in  this  direction.  The  retreating  militia, 
seeing  their  places  supplied,  rallied,  and,  recovering  their 
former  position  in  the  line,  aided  in  checking  the  advance  of 
the  savages.  The  action  now  became  general  along  the  line, 
and  in  fifteen  minutes  the  Indians  were  seen  flying  in  every 
direction.  On  the  left,  they  were  met  and  repulsed  by  the 
mounted  riflemen ;  but  on  the  right,  owing  to  the  halt  of 
Bradley's  regiment,  which  was  intended  to  occupy  the  ex- 
treme right, — and  to  the  circumstance  of  Colonel  Allcorn, 
who  commanded  one  of  the  wings  of  the  cavalry,  having  taken 
too  large  a  circuit,  a  considerable  space  was  left  between  the 
infantry  and  the  cavalry,  through  which  numbers  escaped. 
The  fight  was  maintained  with  great  spirit  and  effect  on  both 
sides,  as  well  before,  as  after  the  retreat  commenced ;  nor 
did  the  savages  escape  the  pursuit  and  slaughter,  until  they 
reached  the  mountains,  at  the  distance  of  three  miles. 

"  In  this  battle,  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  one  thousand 
and  eighty,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  were  left 
dead  on  the  ground  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  many  were  killed 
in  the  flight,  who  were  not  found  when  the  estimate  was  made. 
Probably  few  escaped  unhurt.  Their  loss  on  this  occasion, 
as  stated  since  by  themselves,  was  not  less  than  six  hundred : 
that  of  the  Americans  was  fifteen  killed,  and  eighty  wounded, 
several  of  whom  afterwards  died.  Jackson,  after  collecting 
hia  dead  and  wounded,  advanced  his  army  beyond  the  fort, 


200  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  encamped  for  the  night.  The  friendly  Indians,  whc 
had  been  shut  up  for  several  days  in  Talladega,  thus  fortu- 
nately liberated  from  the  most  dreadful  apprehensions,  and 
severest  privations,  having  for  some  time  been  entirely  with- 
out water,  received  the  army  with  all  the  demonstrations  of 
gratitude,  that  savages  could  give.  Their  manifestations  of 
joy  for  their  deliverance,  presented  an  interesting  and  affect- 
ng  spectacle.  Their  fears  had  been  already  excited,  for  it 
was  the  very  day  when  they  were  to  have  been  assaulted, 
and  when  every  soul  within  the  fort  must  have  perished.  All 
the  provisions  they  could  spare,  from  their  scanty  stock,  they 
Bold  to  the  general,  who,  purchasing  with  his  own  money, 
distributed  them  amongst  the  soldiers,  who  were  almost 
destitute. 

"  It  was  with  great  regret,  that  Jackson  now  found  he  was 
without  the  means  of  availing  himself  fully  of  the  advantages 
of  his  victory  ;  but  the  condition  of  his  posts  in  the  rear,  and 
the  want  of  provisions,  (having  left  Fort  Strother,  at  the  Ten 
Islands,  with  little  more  than  one  day's  rations,)  compelled 
him  to  hasten  back ;  thus  giving  the  enemy  time  to  recover 
from  their  consternation,  and  to  re-assemble  their  forces."* 

On  reaching  Fort  Strother,  Jackson  found  that  no  pro- 
vision had  yet  been  forwarded.  The  troops  were  almost 
destitute.  Discontent  began  to  show  its  head,  and  after  a 
few  days,  the  troops  openly  announced  their  intention  to 
return  home.  Jackson  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  oppose 
their  design.  On  the  morning  when  the  discontents  were 
to  depart,  he  drew  up  those  volunteers  who  were  faithful  to 
him,  and,  with  daring  determination,  commanded  the  militia 
to  return  to  their  quarters.  He  was  obeyed.  The  next 
day,  however,  the  volunteers  themselves  revolted,  and  the 

*  Eaton.. 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  201 

singular  scene  was  presented,  of  the  militia,  under  the  com 
mand  of  General  Jackson,  compelling  them  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  day  before,  and  retire  to  their  quarters. 
The  conduct  of  General  Jackson  throughout  the  affair  was 
m  irked  by  wonderful  firmness  and  decision.  The  cavalry, 
being  without  forage,  was  allowed  to  return  home,  upon 
condition  that  when  supplied  and  recruited,  the  whole  force 
would  come  back  to  the  camp.  By  addresses  and  great 
personal  exertions,  General  Jackson  strove  to  cheer  the 
spirits  of  his  men,  but  their  distresses  and  grievances  were 
not  to  be  quietly  born.  Besides,  most  of  the  troops  were 
bold  independents,  unused  to  military  subordination.  Camp 
life  was  irksome  to  them  and  they  wanted  to  be  free.  On 
several  occasions,  they  evinced  a  determined  spirit  of  mu- 
tiny ;  but  the  iron  resolution  of  their  general  reduced  them 
to  obedience.  But  for  his  firmness,  the  campaign  would 
have  been  abandoned.  His  life  was  fearlessly  exposed  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty.  As  it  was,  however,  many  of 
the  troops,  after  much  perseverance,  obtained  permission  to 
return  to  their  homes.  New  regiments  arrived  in  camp 
But  among  these  discontent  Avas  early  manifested. 

In  January,  1814,  General  Jackson,  having  received  in- 
telligence that  the  Indians  were  concentrating  at  Emuckfau, 
marched  against  them  at  the  head  of  less  than  a  thousand 
men.  At  dawn  of  day,  on  the  22d,  when  near  their  camp, 
the  army  was  attacked  with  great  fury.  The  action  raged 
for  about  half  an  hour,  when  the  Indians  were  totally 
routed,  and  pursued  for  two  miles.  But  a  strong  force  re- 
mained in  the  fortified  camp.  General  Coffee  was  sent  to 
ascertain  the  strength  of  the  position,  and  he  returned  with 
the  information  that  it  was  much  too  superior  for  him  to  at- 
tack. Soon  afterwards,  the  Indians  advanced  and  assailed  the 


202  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

camp  of  the  Tennesseeans.  A  long  and  fierce  struggle  en- 
sued. No  quarter  was  given  and  none  was  requested.  The 
red  men  were  routed,  and  they  suffered  terribly  during  the 
pursuit.  Hundreds  of  them  fell  during  the  day's  fighting. 
The  loss  of  the  whites  was  also  severe. 

The  next  day,  General  Jackson,  having,  as  he  believed, 
effected  the  object  of  the  expedition,  and  being  greatly  in 
want  of  provisions,  began  a  return  march.  At  night  his 
army  was  encamped  on  the  south  side  of  Enotichopco  creek. 
The  Indians,  it  was  evident,  had  followed  the  army  during 
the  day,  and  arrangements  were  therefore  made  to  repel  a 
night  attack.  The  enemy  held  off  until  the  next  morning, 
and  then  commenced  an  attack  as  the  troops  were  crossing 
the  creek.  At  first  a  body  of  the  troops  gave  way.  But 
they  were  quickly  rallied  by  the  exertions  of  Generals  Jack- 
son and  Coffee,  and  after  a  short  struggle,  the  Indians  were 
compelled  to  retreat.  Many  of  the  latter  were  destroyed  in 
the  pursuit.  Altogether,  more  than  two  hundred  were 
killed.  General  Jackson  had  twenty  men  killed,  and  seventy- 
five  woundeii.  On  the  26th,  the  victorious  army  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Strother.  Throughout  this  perilous 
expedition,  the  conduct  of  both  officers  and  troops  was 
highly  honorable  and  efficient.  The  general  now  dismissed 
them  to  their  homes  with  high  commendation. 

Early  in  February,  a  much  greater  force  of  Tennesseans 
•was  brought  into  the  field  under  the  orders  of  General 
Jackson.  But  the  difficulties  caused  by  the  want  of  sup- 
plies, and  the  want  of  discipline  among  the  hardy,  independ- 
ent sons  of  the  west  continued  unabated.  By  constant 
exertion,  General  Jackson  obtained  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
provision  to  enable  him  to  march  into  the  enemy's  country 
in  March,  1814.  On  the  27th,  he  reached  the  village  of  To- 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  203 

hopcka,  where  twelve  hundred  Indians  were  strongly  posted. 
The  bloodiest  struggle  of  the  whole  war  ensued.  The  In- 
dians were  driven  within  their  fort,  which  was  then  set  on 
fire,  as  they  refused  to  surrender.  Still  they  fought  with 
determined  courage.  The  carnage  was  horrible.  Few  of 
the  warriors  escaped.  About  three  hundred  women  and 
children  were  made  prisoners.  This  was  the  last  important 
stand  made  by  the  Indians.  All  hope  of  success  deserted 
them.  They  became  a  miserable  band  of"  fugitives,  who 
were  hunted  and  destroyed  like  wild  beasts. 

General  Jackson  now  assumed  a  new  character — that  of 
a  negotiator  and  peacemaker.  He  encamped  at  a  place 
known  as  the  Hickory  Ground,  where  numbers  of  Indians 
daily  arrived,  and  offered  to  submit  on  any  terms.  General 
Jackson  assurred  them  of  peace  and  safety,  if  they  would 
retire  to  the  north  of -Fort  William.  But  resolving  to  put 
their  friendly  professions  at  once  to  the  test,  he  directed 
them  to  bring  Weatherford,  one  of  the  first  chiefs  of  the 
nation,  to  him. 

"  Learning  from  the  chiefs,  on  their  return,  what  had 
been  required  of  them  by  Jackson,  Weatherford  was  pre- 
vailed upon,  as  being  perhaps  the  safer  course,  to  go  and 
make  a  voluntary  surrender  of  himself.  Having  reached 
the  camp  without  being  known,  and  obtained  admission  to 
the  general's  quarter's,  he  told  him  he  was  Weatherford, 
the  chief  who  had  commanded  at  Fort  Mimms,  and,  desiring 
peace  for  himself  and  people,  had  come  to  ask  it.  Some- 
what surprised,  that  one  who  so  richly  merited  punishment, 
should  so  sternly  demand  the  protection  which  had  been 
extended  to  others,  he  replied  to  him,  that  he  was  astonished 
he  should  venture  to  appear  in  his  presence ;  that  be  was 
not  ignorant  of  his  having  been  at  Fort  Mimms,  nor  of  his 


204  LIVE.3  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

conduct  there,  for  which  he  well  deserved  to  die.  'I  had 
directed,'  continued  he,  'that  you  should  be  brought  to 
me  confined ;  had  you  appeared  in  this  way,  I  should  have 
known  how  to  have  treated  you.'  Weatherford  replied,  *I 
am  in  your  power — do  with  me  as  you  please.  I  am  a 
soldier.  I  have  done  the  white  people  all  the  harm  I  could; 
I  have  fought  them,  and  fought  them  bravely ;  if  I  had  an 
army,  I  would  yet  fight,  and  contend  to  the  last :  but  I 
have  none ;  my  people  are  all  gone.  I  can  now  do  no  more 
than  weep  over  the  misfortunes  of  my  nation.'  Pleased  at 
the  firmness  of  the  man,  Jackson  informed  him,  that  he  did 
not  solicit  him  to  lay  down  his  arms,  and  become  peaceable. 
'  The  terms  on  which  your  nation  can  be  saved,  and  peace 
restored,  has  already  been  disclosed :  in  this  way,  and  none 
other,  can  you  obtain  safety.'  If,  however,  he  wished  still 
to  continue  the  war,  and  felt  himself  •prepared  to  meet  the 
consequences,  although  he  was  then  completely  in  his  power, 
no  advantage  should  be  taken  of  that  circumstance ;  that 
he  was  at  liberty  to  retire,  and  unite  himself  with  the  war 
party,  if  he  pleased ;  but  if  taken,  his  life  should  pay  the 
forfeit  of  his  crimes ;  if  this  were  not  desired,  he  might 
remain  where  he  was,  and  should  be  protected. 

"  Weatherford  answered,  that  he  desired  peace,  that  his 
nation  might,  in  some  measure,  be  relieved  from  their  suf- 
feaings ;  that,  independent  of  other  misfortunes,  growing 
out  of  a  state  of  war,  their  cattle  and  grain  were  all  wasted 
and  destroyed,  and  their  women  and  children  destitute  of 
provisions.  'But,'  continued  he,  'I  may  be  well  ad- 
dressed in  such  language  now.  There  was  a  time  when  I 
had  a  choice,  and  could  have  answered  you :  I  have  none 
now, — even  hope  has  ended.  Once  I  could  animate  my 
warrioi  s  to  battle ;  but  I  cannot  animate  the  dead.  My 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  205 

warriors  can  no  longer  hear  my  voice :  their  bones  are  at 
Talladega,  Tallushatchee,  Emuckfaw,  and  Tohopeka.  I  have 
not  surrendered  myself  thoughtlessly.  Whilst  there  were 
chances  of  success,  I  never  left  my  post,  nor  supplicated 
peace.  But  my  people  are  gone,  I  now  ask  it  for  my  nation, 
and  for  myself.  On  the  miseries  and  misfortunes  brought 
upon  my  country,  I  look  back  with  deepest  sorrow,  and  wish 
to  avert  still  greater  calamities.  If  I  had  been  left  to  con- 
tend with  the  Georgia  army,  I  would  have  raised  my  corn 
on  one  bank  of  the  river,  and  fought  them  on  the  other  ;  but 
your  people  have  destroyed  my  nation.  You  are  a  brave  man  : 
I  rely  upon  your  generosity.  You  will  exact  no  terms  -of  a 
conquered  people,  but  such  as  they  should  accede  to  ;  what- 
ever they  may  be,  it  would  now  he  madness  and  folly  to  op- 
pose. If  they  are  opposed,  you  shall  find  me  amongst  the 
strongest  enforcers  of  obedience.  Those  who  would  still  hold 
out,  can  be  influenced  only  by  a  mean  spirit  of  revenge  ;  and 
to  this  they  must  not,  and  shall  not  sacrifice  the  last  remnant 
of  their  country.  You  have  told  us  where  we  might  go,  and 
be  safe.  This  is  a  good  talk,  and  my  nation  ought  to  listen 
to  it.  They  shall  listen  to  it.' 

"  The  earnestness  and  bold  independence  of  his  conduct 
left  no  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  his  professions.  The  peace 
party  became  reconciled  to  him,  and  agreed  to  bury  all  pre- 
vious animosities.  In  a  few  days  afterwards,  having  obtained 
permission,  he  set  out  from  camp,  accompanied  by  a  small 
party,  to  search  through  the  forest,  for  his  followers  and 
friends,  and  persuade  them  to  give  up  a  contest,  in  which 
hope  seemed  to  be  at  an  end,  and,  by  timely  submission,  to 
save  their  nation  from  still  further  disasters."* 

A  large  number  of  the  Creeks  had  retired  southward  to 

*  Eaton. 


206  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  they  could  be  protected  by  the 
British  and  Spaniards.  A  line  of  posts  was  established 
along  the  frontiers  of  Georgia  and  Tennessee  to  cover  the 
country,  and  overawe  the  Indians.  General  Pinckney  took 
command  of  what  troops  were  to  remain  in  the  service. 
General  Jackson  and  his  brave  Tennesseans  returned  home, 
amid  the  plaudits  of  their  countrymen. 

"It  was  now  eight  months  since  General  Jackson  had 
left  home,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  Indian  war ;  during 
most  of  which  time,  he  had  been  in  a  situation  of  bodily 
infirmity  that  would  have  directed  a  prudent  man  to  his  bed, 
instead  of  the  field.  During  this  period,  he  had  never  seen 
his  family,  or'been  absent  from  the  army  longer  than  to 
visit  Deposit,  and  arrange  with  his  contractors  some  certain 
plans  to  guard  against  a  future  failure  of  supplies.  His 
health  was  still  delicate,  and  rendered  retirement  essential 
to  its  restoration ;  but  his  uniformly  successful  and  good 
conduct,  had  brought  him  too  conspicuously  before  the  pub- 
lic, for  any  other  sentiment  to  be  indulged,  than  that  he  should 
be  placed,  with  an  important  command,  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States. 

"  The  resignation  of  General  Hampton,  enabled  the  go- 
vernment, in  a  short  time,  to  afford  him  the  evidences  of  re- 
spect it  entertained  for  his  services  and  character.  A  notice 
of  his  appointment  as  brigadier  and  brevet  major-general, 
was  forwarded  on  the  22d  of  May,  from  the  war  department. 
General  Harrison  having,  about  this  time,  from  some  cause, 
become  disgusted  with  the  conduct  of  the  government  towards 
him,  had  refused  to  be  longer  considered  one  of  her  military 
actors ;  to  supply  which  vacancy,  a  commission  of  major-ge- 
neral was  immediately  forwarded  to  Jackson. 

"The  contest  with  the  Indians  being  ceded;  the  first 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  207 

and  principal  object  of  the  government  was,  to  enter  into 
pome  definite  arrangement,  which  should  deprive  of  suc- 
cess, any  effort  that  might  hereafter  be  made,  by  other 
powers,  to  enlist  these  savages  in  their  wars.  None  was 
so  well  calculated  to  answer  this  end,  as  that  of  restricting 
their  limits,  so  as  to  cut  off  their  communication  with  British 
and  Spanish  agents,  in  East  Florida. 

"  The  citizens  of  Tennessee,  learning  that  commissioners 
were  appointed  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  purpose  ;  anJI 
believing  themselves  as  much,  or  more  interested  than  others, 
in  having  such  a  disposition  made,  as  should  give  complete 
security  to  their  borders,  petitioned  the  government  that  one 
might  be  selected  from  their  state.  The  efforts  they  had 
made  to  effect  what  had  been  done ;  and  the  interests  they 
had  involved,  were  considerations  that  the  President  did 
not  scruple  to  admit.  He  accordingly  associated  General 
Jackson  in  the  mission,  and  again  required  his  services  for 
the  establishment  of  a  peace,  on  such  terms  as  should  pro 
mise  to  be  permanent.  The  circumstance  of  Colonel  Haw 
kins  being  appointed,  was  an  additional  reason,  why  any 
solicitude  had  been  felt,  or  any  petition  forwarded.  He 
may  have  been  deceived,  and  may  have  founded  his  opinions 
upon  data  presumed  to  be  correct ;  but  his  continual  decla- 
rations, that  the  Creek  Indians  intended  a  rigid  adherence 
to  their  treaties,  at  the  very  moment  they  were  planning 
their  murderous  schemes  against  the  frontiers,  led  the  western 
people  to  fear,  that  his  agency  had  lasted  too  long,  to  hope 
that  he  would  steadily  pursue  that  course,  which  the  safety 
and  interest  of  the  country  required. 

"  On  the  10th  of  July,  the  general,  with  a  small  retinue, 
reached  the  Alabama ;  and  on  the  10th  of  August  succeeded 
in  procuring  the  execution  of  a  treaty,  in  which  the  Indians 


208  ^IVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

pledged  themselves,  no  more  to  listen  to  foreign  emissaries, — 
to  hold  no  communication  with  British  or  Spanish  garrisons  ; 
guaranteed  to  the  United  States,  the  right  of  erecting  mili- 
tary posts  in  their  country,  and  a  free  navigation  of  all  their 
waters.  They  stipulated  further,  that  they  would  suffer  no 
agent  or  trader  to  pass  among  them,  or  hold  any  kind  of 
commerce  or  intercourse  with  their  nation,  unless  specially 
deriving  his  authority  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

"  General  Jackson  having  understood,  that  that  comfort 
and  aid,  which  had  been  already  so  liberally  extended,  was 
still  afforded  by  the  Spanish  governor  to  the  hostile  Indians, 
who  had  fled  from  the  ravages  of  the  Creek  war,  cherished 
the  belief  that  his  conduct  was  such  as  deservedly  to  ex- 
clude him  from  that  protection  which,  under  other  circum- 
stances, he  would  be  entitled,  from  the  professed  neutrality 
of  Spain.  At  all  events,  if  the  improper  acts  of  the  Spanish 
agents  would  not  authorize  the  American  government  openly 
to  redress  herself  for  the  unprovoked  injuries  she  had  received, 
they  were  such,  he  believed,  as  would  justify  any  course  that 
had  for  its  object  the  putting  them  down,  and  arresting 
their  continuance.  In  this  point  of  view  he  had  already 
considered  it,  when,  on  his  way  to  the  Alabama,  he  received 
certain  information,  that  about  three  hundred  English  troops 
had  landed ;  were  fortifying  at  the  mouth  of  the  Apalachi- 
cola ;  and  were  endeavoring  to  excite  the  Indians  to  war. 
No  time  was  lost,  in  giving  the  government  notice  of  what 
was  passing,  and  the  course  deemed  by  him  most  advisable 
to  be  pursued.  The  advantages  to  be'  secured  by  the  pos- 
session of  Pensacola,  he  had  frequently  urged.  Whether  il 
was  that  the  government  beheld  things  in  a  different  point 
of  view,  or,  being  at  peace  with  Spain,  was  willing  to  en- 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  209 

counter  partial  inconveniences,  rather  than  add  her  to  the 
number  of  our  enemies,  no  order  to  that  effect  was  yet  given. 
In  detailing  to  the  secretary  of  war  what  had  been  commu- 
nicated to  him,  he  remarks :  '  If  the  hostile  Creeks  have 
taken  refuge  in  Florida,  and  are  there  fed,  clothed,  and  pro- 
tected ;  if  the  British  have  landed  a  large  force,  with  muni- 
tions of  war,  and  are  fortifying  and  stirring  up  the  savages ; 
will  you  only  say  to  me,  raise  a  few  hundred  militia,  which 
can  be  Quickly  done,  and  with  such  regular  force  as  can  be 
conveniently  collected,  make  a  descent  upon  Pensacola,  and 
reduce  it  ?  If  so,  I  promise  you,  the  war  in  the  south  shalJ 
have  a  speedy  termination,  and  English  influence  be  for  ever 
destroyed  with  the  savages  in  this  quarter.'  "* 

To  this  communication,  the  general  received  no  answer 
until  after  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  Upon  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Spanish  governor, 
at  Pensacola,  requesting  that  the  ringleaders  of  the  Creek 
confederacy,  from  whom  new  hostilities  were  expected,  should 
be  delivered  to  United  States  officers.  The  governor  refused, 
and  replied  to  General  Jackson's  letter  in  a  very  lofty  tone. 

But  events  were  about  to  occur  of  a  nature  to  test  the 
energy  and  talents  of  Jackson.  Every  day's  reports  con- 
firmed the  impression  that  the  British  were  preparing  a 
formidable  armament,  for  a  descent  upon  New  Orleans. 
General  Jackson  urged  the  governors  of  Tennessee,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Louisiana  to  be  vigilant  and  to  hold  all  their 
militia  in  readiness  for  marching  at  the  shortest  notice. 
The  Tennessee  troops  were  the  first  to  advance  and  to  reach 
Mobile.  With  a  body  of  these  and  a  few  regulars,  Genera] 
Jackson  started  for  New  Orleans.  He  had  scarcely  started, 
before  Fort  Boyer,  near  Mobile,  was  attacked  by  a  British 

*  Eaton.. 


210  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

force,  commanded  by  Colonel  Nichols.  However,  the 
little  garrison  displayed  Spartan  bravery,  and  repulsed  thft 
assailants,  who  then  returned  to  Pensacola.  This  attick 
General  Jackson  considered  as  a  feint,  but  determined  to 
proceed  to  Pensacola,  and  upon  his  own  responsibility,  break 
ap  the  hostile  band  of  British,  Spaniards,  and  Indians  ther  e 
assembled.  This  was  an  extraordinary  resolution,  but  the 
circumstances  certainly  justified  its  formation.  The^security 
of  the  frontier  and  the  lives  and  property  of  American  sub- 
jects which  General  Jackson  was  expected  to  defend,  de- 
manded that  the  rendezvous  of  the  enemy  should  be  destroyed. 
Far  from  deserving  censure  for  this  project,  the  general 
merited  commendation.  He  incurred  all  the  risk.  There 
was  no  danger  of  his  involving  his  country  in  a  war  with 
Spain.  The  government  might  disavow  his  act,  and  punish 
him  for  its  commission. 

When  Colonel  Child's  brigade  arrived  at  Fort  Stephens, 
General  Jackson's  whole  force  amounted  to  three  thousand 
men.  On  the  2d  of  November,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up, 
and  on  the  6th,  the  army  reached  the  vicinity  of  Pensacola. 

The  British  and  Spaniards  had  obtained  intelligence  of 
its  approach  and  intentions ;  and  every  thing  was  in  readi- 
ness to  dispute  its  passage.  The  forts  were  garrisoned,  and 
prepared  for  resistance ;  batteries  were  formed  in  the  prin- 
cipal streets ;  and  the  British  vessels  were  moored  within 
the  bay,  and  so  disposed  as  to  command  the  main  entrance 
to  the  town.  Before  any  final  step  was  taken,  General 
Jackson  concluded  to  make  a  further  application  to  the  go- 
vernor, and  learn  what  course  lie  would  make  it  necessary 
for  him  to  pursue.  To  take  possession,  and  dislodge  the 
British,  was  indispensable :  to  do  it  under  such  circum- 
stances, as  should  impress  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards  with  a 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  211 

conviction,  that  the  invasion  of  their  territory  was  a  mea- 
sure adopted  from  necessity,  and  not  from  choice,  or  a  dis- 
position to  infringe,  or  violate,  their  neutral  rights,  was  be- 
lieved to  be  essential.  It  was  rendered  the  more  so,  on  the 
part  of  Jackson,  because  a  measure  of  his  own,  and  not 
sanctioned  or  directed  by  his  government.  Previously, 
therefore,  to  any  act  of  open  war,  he  determined  to  try  the 
effect  of  negotiation,  that  he  might  ascertain,  certainly  and 
correctly,  how  far  the  governor  felt  disposed  to  preserve  a 
good  understanding  between  the  governments. 

But  all  attempts  at  a  peaceable  settlement  were  unavailing, 
and  on  the  7th,  Jackson  put  his  army  in  motion,  and  after 
a  short  conflict,  compelled  the  governor  to  surrender  all 
the  works  into  the  hands  of  the  United  States  forces.  Soor. 
after  the  fort  at  Barancas  was  blown  up,  and  the  British 
vessels  left  Pensacola  bay.  Having  accomplished  the  de- 
struction of  a  dangerous  rendezvous,  General  Jackson  resolved 
to  return  to  Mobile,  which  place,  he  thought  the  British 
would  again  threaten.  A  detachment  was  in  pursuit  of  those 
hostile  Creeks  who  had  fled  from  Pensacola.  Reaching  Mo- 
bile, the  general  prepared  it  to  resist  an  attack.  In  the  latter 
part  of  November,  General  Winchester  arrived.  Leaving 
the  command  of  Mobile  to  this  officer,  General  Jackson 
hastened  to  New  Orleans,  which  he  made  his  head-quarters. 

General  Jackson  was  now  on  a  new  theatre,  and  soon  to 
be  brought  in  collision  with  an  enemy,  different  from  any 
he  had  yet  encountered  :  the  time  had  arrived,  to  call  forth 
all  the  energies  he  possessed.  His  military  career,  from  its 
commencement,  had  been  obstructed  by  innumerable  lifficul- 
ties,  but  far  greater  were  now  rising  to  his  view.  His  body 
worn  down  by  sickness  and  exhaustion,  with  a  mind  con- 
stantly alive  to  the  apprehension,  that,  with  the  means 


212  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS.' 

given  him,  it  would  not  be  in  his  power  to  satisfy  his  own 
wishes,  and  the  expectations  of  his  country,  were  circum- 
stances well  calculated  to  depress  him.  He  was  as  yet  with- 
out sufficient  strength  or  preparation,  to  attempt  successful 
opposition  against  the  numerous  and  well-trained  troops, 
which  were  expected  shortly  at  some  unprepared  point,  to 
enter,  and  lay  waste  the  lower  country.  What  was  to  be 
hoped,  from  the  clemency  and  generous  conduct  of  such  a 
foe,  their  march  to  the  city  of  Washington  already  announced  ; 
while  the  imagination  painted  in  lively  colors  the  repetition, 
here,  of  scenes  of  desolation,  even  surpassing  what  had  there 
been  witnessed. 

"  Louisiana,  he  well  knew,  was  ill  supplied  with  arms,  and 
contained  a  mixed  population,  of  different  tongues,  who  per- 
haps felt  not  a  sufficient  attachment  for  the  soil  or  govern- 
ment, to  be  induced  to  defend  them  to  the  last  extremity. 
No  troops,  arms,  or  ammunition,  had  yet  descended  from  the 
states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  His  only  reliance  for 
defence,  if  assailed,  was  on  the  few  regulars  he  had,  the 
volunteers  of  General  Coffee,  and  such  troops  as  the  state 
itself  could  raise.  What  might  be  the  final  result  of  things, 
under  prospects  gloomy  as  the  present,  should  an  enemy 
shortly  appear,  was  no  difficult  conjecture.  His  principal 
fears,  at  present,  were,  that  Mobile  might  fall,  the  left  bank 
of  the  Mississippi  be  gained,  all  communication  with  the 
western  states  cut  off,  and  New  Orleans  be  thus  unavoidably 
reduced.  Although  continually  agitated  by  such  forebod- 
ings, he  breathed  his  fears  to  none.  Closely  locking  all 
apprehensions  in  his  own  breast,  he  appeared  constantly 
serene,  and  as  constantly  endeavored  to  impress  a  general 
belief,  that  the  country  could  and  would  be  successfully  de- 
fendel.  The  manifestations  of  such  tranquillity,  and  ap 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  213 

parent  certainty  of  success,  under  circumstances  so  un- 
propitious,  excited  strong  hopes,  dispelled  every  thing  like 
fear,  and  impressed  all  with  additional  confidence  in  their 
security." 

General  Jackson  was  fully  aware  that  spies  and  traitors 
swarmed  in  Louisiana.  He  urged  Governor  Claiborne  to  be 
vigil  ant  and  determined  in  discouraging  the  spirit  of  disconten  t 
and  treachery.  He  addressed  the  people  of  the  state  and 
urged  them  to  make  a  bold  stand  in  defence  of  their  soil  and 
freedom.  One  of  the  general's  addresses  concluded  in  these 
energetic  words  : — "  Our  country  must  and  shall  be  defended. 
We  will  enjoy  our  liberty  or  die  in  the  last  ditch."  The 
states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were  actively  engaged  in 
preparing  their  forces  to  advance  to  the  defence  of  Louisiana. 
The  Kentuckians  were  commanded  by  Major-General  Thomas, 
and  the  Tennesseeans,  by  Major-General  Carroll.  General 
Jackson  pushed  forward  extensive  preparations  for  guarding 
the  passes  to  New  Orleans. 

"  The  legislature  of  Louisiana  had  been  for  some  weeks  in 
session ;  and,  through  the  governor's  communication,  had 
been  informed  of  the  situation  and  strength  of  the  country, 
and  of  the  necessity  of  calling  all  its  resources  into  action : 
but,  balancing  in  their  decisions,  and  uncertain  of  the  best 
course  to  be  pursued,  to  assure  protection,  they  as  yet  had 
resolve  I  upon  nothing  promising  certainty  and  safety,  or 
calculated  to  infuse  tranquillity  and  confidence  in  the  public 
mind.  The  arrival  of  Jackson,  however,  produced  a  new 
aspect  in  affairs.  His  activity  and  zeal  in  preparation,  and 
his  reputation  as  a  brave  and  skilful  commander,  turned 
all  eyes  towards  him,  and  inspired  even  the  desponding  with 
H  confidence  they  had  not  before  felt. 

"  The  volunteer  corps  of  the  city  wore  reviewed,  and  a 


214  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

visit,  in  person,  made  to  the  different  forts,  to  ascertain 
Iheir  situation,  and  the  reliance  that  might  be  had  on  them, 
to  repel  the  enemy's  advance.  ^Through  the  lakes,  their 
larger  vessels  could  not  pass;  should  an  approach  be  at- 
tempted, through  this  route,  in  their  barges,  it  might  be 
met  and  opposed  by  the  gun-boats,  which  already  guarded 
this  passage ;  but  if,  unequal  to  the  contest,  they  should  be 
captured,  it  vrould,  at  any  rate,  give  timely  information  of 
a  descent,  which  might  be  resisted  on  the  landing,  before 
an  opportunity  could  be  had  of  executing  fully  their  designs. 
LTp  the  Mississippi,  however,  was  looked  upon  as  the  most 
probable  pass,  through  which  might  be  made  an  attempt  to 
reach  the  city ;  and  here  were  progressing  suitable  prepa- 
rations for  defence. 

"  We  have  already  noticed  that  Colonel  Hayne  had  been 
despatched  from  Mobile,  with  directions  to  view  the  Missis- 
sippi near  its  mouth,  and  report  if  any  advantageous  posi- 
tion could  be  found  for  the  erection  of  batteries ;  and  whe- 
ther the  re-establishment  of  the  old  fort  at  the  Balize  could 
command  the  river,  in  a  way  to  prevent  its  being  ascended. 
That  it  could  not  be  relied  on  for  this  purpose,  the  opinions 
of  military  men  had  already  declared.  General  Jackson 
was  always  disposed  to  respect  the  decisions  of  those,  who, 
from  their  character  and  standing,  were  entitled  to  confi- 
dence :  yet  in  matters  of  great  importance,  it  formed  no 
part  of  his  creed  to  attach  his  faith  to  the  statements  of  any, 
where  the  object  being  within  his  reach,  it  was  in  his  power 
to  satisfy  himself.  Trusting  implicitly  in  Colonel  Hayne, 
as  a  military  man,  who,  from  proper  observations,  could 
infer  correct  conclusions,  he  had  been  despatched  to  examine 
how  far  it  was  practicable  to  obstruct  and  secure  this  chan- 
ael.  His  report  was  confirmatory  of  the  previous  informa- 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  215 

tion  received,  that  it  was  incapable,  from  its  situation,  of 
effecting  any  such  object. 

Fort  St.  Philips  was  now  resorted  to,  as  the  lowest" 
point  on  the  river,  were  the  erection  of  works  could  be  at 
all  serviceable.  The  general  had  returned  to  New  Orleans, 
on  the  9th,  from  a  visit  to  this  place,  which  he  had  ordered 
to  be  repaired  and  strengthened.  The  commanding  officer 
was  directed  to  remove  every  combustible  material  without 
the  fort;  to  have  two  additional  platforms  immediately 
raised ;  and  the  embrasures  so  enlarged,  that  the  ordnance 
might  have  the  greatest  possible  sw.eep  upon  their  circles, 
and  be  brought  to  bear  on  any  object  within  their  range, 
that  might  approach  either  up  or  down  the  river.  At  a 
small  distance  below,  the  Mississippi,  changing  its  course, 
left  a  neck  of  land  in  the  bend,  covered  with  timber,  and 
which  obstructed  the  view.  From  this  point,  down  to  whero 
old  Fort  Bourbon  stood,  on  the  west  side,  the  growth  along 
the  bank  was  ordered  to  be  cut  away,  that  the  shot  from 
St.  Philips,  ranging  across  this  point  of  land,  might  reach 
an  approaching  vessel,  before  she  should  be  unmasked  from 
behind  it.  On  the  site  of  Bourbon,  was  to  be  thrown  up  a 
strong  work,  defended  by  five  twenty-four-pounders,  which, 
\nth  the  fort  above,  would  expose  an  enemy  to  a  cross  fire, 
for  half  a  mile.  A  mile  above  St.  Philips  was  to  be  established 
a  work,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the  others,  would  command 
the  river  for  two  miles.  At  Terre  au  Boeuf,  and  at  the 
English  turn,  twelve  miles  below  the  city  were  also  to  be  taken 
measures  for  defence ;  where  it  was  expected  by  Jackson, 
with  his  flying  artillery  and  fire  ships,  he  would  be  able,  cer- 
tainly, to  arrest  the  enemy's  advance.  This  system  of  do- 
fence,  properly  established,  he  believed  would  give  security 
from  any  attack  in  this  direction.  Fort  St.  Philips,  with 


216  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  assistant  batteries,  above  and  below,  would  so  concentrate 
their  fires,  that  an  enemy  could  never  pass,  without  suffering 
greatly,  and  perhaps  being  so  shattered,  that  they  would  fall 
an  easy  prey,  to  those  still  higher  up  the  river.  The  essen- 
tial difficulty  was  to  have  them  commenced,  and  speedily 
finished. 

Upon  lakes  Borgne  and  Ponchartrain,  an  equally  strong 
confidence  was  had,  that  all  would  be  safe  from  invasion. 
Commodore  Patterson,  who  commanded  the  naval  forces, 
had  executed  every  order  with  promptness  and  activity. 
Agreeably 'to  instructions  received  from  the  commanding 
general,  to  extend  to  all  the  passes  on  the  lakes  every  pro- 
tection in  his  power,  he  had  already  sent  out  the  gun-boats, 
under  Lieutenant  Jones.  From  their  vigilance  and  capa- 
bility to  defend,  great  advantages  were  calculated  to  arise  ; 
added  to  which,  the  Rigolets,  the  communication  between 
the  two  lakes,  was  defended  by  Petit  Coquille  fort,  a  strong 
work,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Newman,  which,  when 
acting  in  conjunction  with  the  gun-boats,  it  was  supposed 
would  be  competent  to  repel  any  assault  that  might  here  be 
waged.  The  prospects  of  defence  had  been  improved,  by 
detachments  sent  out  to  fell  timber  across  every  small  bayou 
and  creek,  leading  out  of  the  lakes,  and  through  which  a 
passage  for  boats  and  barges  could  be  afforded ;  and  to  in- 
crease the  obstruction,  by  sinking  large  frames  in  their  beds, 
and  filling  them  with  earth.  Guards  and  videttes  were  out 
to  watch  every  thing  that  passed,  and  give  the  earliest  in- 
formation. Certain  information  was  at  hand,  of  an  English 
fleet  being  now  off  Cat  and  Ship  island,  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  American  lines,  where  their  strength  and  num- 
bers were  daily  increasing  Lieutenant  Jones,  in  command 
of  the  gun-boats,  on  Lake  Borgne,  was  directed  to  recon- 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  217 

noitre,  and  ascertain  their  disposition  and  force  ;  and,  in  thfc 
event  they  should  attempt,  through  this  route,  to  effect  a 
disembarkation,  to  retire  to  the  Rigolets,  and  there,  with 
his  flotilla,  make  an  obstinate  resistance,  and  contend  to  the 
last.  He  remained  off  Shir>  island,  until  the  12th  of  Decem- 
ber ;  when,  understanding  the  enemy's  forces  were  much 
increased,  he  thought  it  most  advisable  to  change  his  anchor 
age,  and  retire  to  a  position  near  Malheureux  island. 

On  the  13th,  Jones  discovered  the  enemy  moving  off  in 
barges,  and  directing  his  way  towards  Pass  Christian.  A 
strong  wind  having  blown  for  some  days  to  the  east,  from 
the  lake  to  the  gulf,  had  so  reduced  the  depth  of  water, 
that  the  best  and  deepest  channels  were  insufficient  to  float 
his  little  squadron.  The  oars  were  resorted  to,  but  without 
rendering  the  least  assistance  :  it  was  immoveable.  Recourse 
was  now  had  to  throwing  every  thing  overboard  that  could 
be  spared,  to  lighten  and  bring  them  off;  all,  however,  was 
ineffectual, — nothing  could  afford  relief.  At  this  moment 
of  extreme  peril  and  danger,  the  tide  coming  suddenly  in, 
relieved  from  present  embarrassment,  and  lifting  them  from 
the  shoal,  they  bore  away  from  the  attack  meditated ;  di- 
rected their  course  for  the  Rigolets ;  and  came  to  anchor  at 
one  o'clock  the  next  "morning,  on  the  west  passage  of  Mal- 
heureux isles ;  where,  at  day,  they  discovered  the  pursuit 
had  been  abandoned. 

At  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis  was  a  small  depot  of  public 
stores,  which  had,  that  morning,  been  directed,  by  Lieute- 
nant Jones,  to  be  brought  off.  Mr.  Johnson,  on  board  the 
Sea  Horse,  had  proceeded  in  the  execution  of  this  order. 
The  enemy,  on  the  retreat  of  Jones,  despatched  three  bargea 
to  capture  him ;  but  unable  to  effect  it  they  were  driven 
back.  An  additional  force  now  proceeded  against  him ; 


218  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

when  a  smart  action  commenced,  and  the  assailants  were 
again  compelled  to  retire  with  some  loss.  Johnson,  satisfied 
that  it  was  out  of  his  power  successfully  to  defend  himself, 
and  considering  it  hopeless  to  attempt  uniting,  in  face  of  so 
large  a  force,  with  the  gun-boats  off  Malheureux,  determined 
to  blow  up  his  vessel,  burn  the  stores,  and  effect  his  retreat 
by  land.  A  prodigious  explosion,  and  flames  bursting  on 
his  view,  assured  Jones  of  the  probable  step  that  had  been 
taken.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  the  enemy's  barges, 
lying  about  nine  miles  to  the  east,  suddenly  weighed  their 
anchors  ;  and,  getting  under  way,  proceeded  westwardly  to 
the  pass,  where  our  gun-boats  still  lay.  The  same  difficulty 
they  had  experienced  yesterday  was  now  encountered.  Per- 
ceiving the  approach  of  the  enemy's  flotilla,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  retreat ;  but  in  vain.  The  wind  was  entirely  lulled, 
and  a  perfect  calm  prevailed  ;  while  a  strong  current,  setting 
to  the  gulf,  rendered  every  effort  to  retire  unavailing.  No 
alternative  was  at  hand ;  but  a  single  course  was  left ; — to 
meet  and  fight  them.  Forty-three  boats,  mounting  as  many 
cannon,  with  twelve  hundred  chosen  men,  well  armed,  con- 
stituted the  strength  of  the  assailants.  Advancing  in  ex 
tended  line,  they  were  presently  in  reach :  and,  at  half  after 
eleven  o'clock,  commencing  a  fire,  the '  action  soon  became 
general.  Owing  to  a  strong  current,  setting  out  to  the  east, 
two  of  the  boats,  numbers  156  and  163,  were  unable  to  keep 
their  anchorage,  and  floated  about  one  hundred  yards  in  ad- 
vance of  the  line. 

The  enemy,  coming  up  with  the  two  gun-boats  in  ad- 
vance of  the  line,  and  relying  on  their  numbers  and  sup- 
posed superior  skill,  determined  to  board.  For  this  pur- 
pose, several  large  barges  bore  down  on  number  156,  com- 
manded by  Lieuterant  Jones,  but  failed  in  the  attempt; 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  219 

they  were  repulsed  with  an  immense  destruction,  both  in 
their  officers  and  crew,  and  two  of  their  boats  sunk ;  one  of 
them,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  went  down,  im- 
mediately under  the  stern  of  number  156.  Again  rallying, 
with  a  stronger  force  than  before,  another  desperate  assault 
was  made,  to  board,  and  carried  at  the  point  of  the  sword, 
which  was  again  repelled,  with  considerable  loss.  The  con 
test  was  now  bravely  waged,  and  spiritedly  resisted.  Lieu- 
tenant Jones,  unable  to  keep  on  the  deck,  from  a  severe 
wound  he  had  received,  retired,  leaving  the  command  with 
George  Parker,  who  no  less  valiantly  defended  his  flag,  until, 
severely  wounded,  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  post.  No 
longer  able  to  maintain  the  conflict,  and  overpowered  by 
superior  numbers,  they  yielded  the  victory,  after  a  contest 
of  forty  minutes,  in  which  every  thing  was  done  that  gallantry 
could  do,  and  nothing  unperformed  that  duty  required. 

The  great  disparity  of  force  between  the  combatants, 
added  to  the  advantages  the  enemy  derived  from  the  peculiar 
construction  of  their  boats,  which  gave  them  an  opportunity 
to  take  any  position  that  circumstances  and  safety  directed, 
while  the  others  lay  wholly  unmanageable,  presents  a  curioua 
and  strange  result ;  that,  while  the  American  loss  was  but 
six  killed,  and  thirty -five  wounded,  that  of  their  assailants 
was  not  less  than  three  hundred. 

"  Resistance  on  the  lakes  being  at  an  end,  no  doubt  was 
entertained,  but  that  the  moment  for  action  would  be,  as 
early  as  the  enemy  could  make  his  preparations  to  proceed. 
At  what  point,  at  what  time,  and  with  a  force  how  greatly 
superior  to  his  own,  were  matters  wholly  resting  in  uncer- 
tainty, and  could  not  be  known,  until  they  actually  trans- 
pired. All  the  means  of  opposition  were  to  be  seized  on. 
without  delay. 


220  LIVL'S  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Early  on  the  15th,  expresses  were  sent  off,  up  the  coast", 
in  quest  of  General  Coffee ;  to  endeavor  to  procure  infor- 
mation of  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  divisions,  which  it 
Mas  hoped  were  not  far  distant,  and  to  urge  their  speedy 
approach.  In  his  communication  to  Coffee,  the  general  ob- 
serves, "  You  must  not  sleep,  until  you  arrive  within  strik- 
ing distance.  Your  accustomed  activity  is  looked  for.  In- 
numerable defiles  present  themselves,  where  your  riflemen 
will  be  all  important.  An  opportunity  is  at  hand,  to  reap 
for  yourself  and  brigade  the  approbation  of  your  country." 
Having  marched  eighty  miles  the  last  day,  Coffee  encamped, 
on  the  night  of  the  19th,  within  fifteen  miles  of  New  Orleans, 
making,  in  two  days,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  Continuing  his  advance,  early  next  morning,  he 
halted  within  four  miles  of  the  city,  to  examine  the  state  and 
condition  of  his  arms  ;  and  to  learn,  in  the  event  the  enemy 
had  landed,  the  relative  position  of  the  two  armies. 

The  advance  of  Colonel  Hinds,  from  Woodville,  with  the 
Mississippi  dragoons,  was  not  less  prompt  and  expeditious ; 
an  active  and  brave  officer,  he  was,  on  this,  as  on  all  other 
occasions,  at  his  post,  ready  to  act  as  was  required.  Having 
received  his  orders,  he  hastened  forward,  and  effected,  in 
four  days,  a  march  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles. 

On  the  16th,  Colonel  Hynes,  aid-de-camp  to  Genera] 
Carroll,  reached  head-quarters,  with  information  from  the 
general,  that  he  would  be  down,  as  early  as  possible ;  but 
that  the  situation  of  the  weather,  and  high  winds  greatly  re- 
tarded his  progress.  The  steamboat  was  immediately  put 
in  requisition,  and  ordered  up  the  river,  to  aid  him  in  reach- 
ing his  destination,  without  loss  of  time.  He  was  advised 
3f  the  necessity  of  hastening  rapidly  forward  ;  that  the  lakea 
were  in  poysession  of  the  enemy,  and  their  arrival  daily 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  221 

looked  for :  "  _3ut,"  continued  Jackson,  "  I  am  resolved,  fee 
ble  as  my  force  is  to  assail  him,  on  his  first  landing,  and 
perish,  sooner  than  he  shall  reach  the  city." 

Independent  of  a  large  force,  descending  with  General 
Carroll,  his  coming  was  looked  to  with  additional  pleasure, 
from  the  circumstance  of  his  having  with  him  a  hoat,  laden 
with  arms,  which,  destined  for  the  defence  of  the  country, 
he  had  overtaken  on  the  passage.  His  falling  in  with  them 
was  fortunate ;  for,  had  their  arrival  depended  on  those  to 
whom  they  had  been  incautiously  given,  they  might  have 
come  too  late,  and  after  all  danger  had  subsided ;  as  was 
indeed  the  case  with  others,  forwarded  from  Pittsburg, 
which,  through  the  unpardonable  conduct  of  those  who  had 
been  entrusted  with  their  management  and  transportation, 
did  not  reach  New  Orleans,  until  after  all  difficulties  had 
ended.  Great  inconvenience  was  sustained,  during  the 
siege,  for  want  of  arms,  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  militia. 
Great  as  it  was,  it  would  have  been  increased,  even  to  an 
alarming  extent,  but  for  the  accidental  circumstance  of  this 
boat  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Tennessee  division,  which 
impelled  it  on,  and  thereby  produced  incalculable  advantage. 

While  these  preparations  were  progressing,  to  concen- 
trate the  forces  within  his  reach,  the  general  was  turning 
his  attention  to  ward  off  any  blow  that  might  be  aimed,  be- 
fore his  expected  reinforcements  should  arrive.  Every 
point,  capable  of  being  successfully  assailed,  was  receiving 
Buch  additional  strength  and  security  as  could  be  given. 
Patroles  and  videttes  were  ranged  through  the  country,  that 
the  earliest  information  might  be  had  of  any  intended  move- 
ment. The  militia  of  the  state  was  called  out  en  masse :  and, 
through  the  interference  of  the  legislature,  an  embargo  de- 
clared, to  afford  an  opportunity  of  procuring  additional  re- 


222  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

cruits  for  the  navy.  General  Villery,  because  an  inhabitant 
of  the  country,  and  best  understanding  the  several  points 
on  the  lakes,  susceptible  of,  and  requiring  defence,  was  or- 
dered, with  the  Louisiana  militia,  to  search  out,  and  give 
protection  to  the  different  passes,  where  a  landing  might 
be  effected. 

Jackson's  arrangements  were  well  conceived,  and  rapidly 
progressing ;  but  they  were  still  insufficient ;  and  his  own 
forebodings  assured  him,  that,  to  obtain  security,  something 
stronger  than  had  been  yet  resorted  to,  required  to  be  adopted. 
That  there  was  an  enemy  in  the  midst  of  his  camp,,  more  to 
be  feared  than  those  who  were  menancing  from  abroad,  was 
indeed  highly  probable ;  while  an  appehension  indulged,  that 
there  were  many  foreigners,  who,  feeling  no  attachment  for 
•-he  country,  and  having  nothing  to  defend,  would  not  scru- 
ple to  avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity,  to  give  intelli- 
gence of  the  strength,  situation,  and  arrangement  of  his 
camp,  excited  his  fears,  and  induced  a  wish  to  apply  the 
earliest  possible  corrective — that  the  country,  without  it, 
could  not  be  saved  ;  he  brought  to  the  view  of  the  legislature 
the  propriety  and  necessity  of  suspending  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus.  They  proceeded  slowly  to  the  investigation,  and 
were  deliberating,  with  great  caution,  upon  their  right  and 
power  to  adopt  such  a  measure ;  when  the  general,  sensible 
that  procrastination  was  dangerous,  and  might  defeat  the 
cbjects  intended  to  be  answered,  suspended  their  councils, 
by  declaring  the  city  and  environs  of  New  Orleans  under 
martial  law. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Kentucky  troops,  which  were 
yet  absent,  all  the  forces  expected  had  arrived.  Greneral 
Carroll  had  reached  Coffee's  encampment  four  miles  above 
the  city,  on  the  21st,  and  bad  immediately  reported  to  the 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  223 

commanding  general.  The  officers  were  busily  engaged  in 
drilling,  manoeuvering,  and  organizing  the  troops,  and  in 
having  eve.-y  thing  ready  for  action,  the  moment  it  should 
become  nec3ssary.  No  doubt  was  entertained,  but  the  Bri- 
tish would  be  able  to  effect  a  landing  at  some  point ;  tho 
principal  thing  to  be  guarded  against  was  not  to  prevent  it ; 
for,  since  the  loss  of  the  gun-boats,  any  attempt  of  this  kind 
could  only  be  regarded  as  hopeless ;  but,  by  preserving  a 
constant  vigilance,  and  thereby  having  the  earliest  intelli- 
gence of  their  approach,  they  might  be  met  at  the  very  thresh- 
hold,  and  opposed.  Small  gun-boats  were  constantly  plying 
on  the  lakes,  to  watch,  and  give  information  of  every  move- 
ment. Some  of  these  had  come  in,  late  on  the  evening  of 
the  22d,  and  reported  that  all  was  quiet,  and  that  no  unfa 
vorable  appearance  portended  in  that  direction.  With  such 
vigilance,  constantly  exercised,  it  is  truly  astonishing  that 
the  enemy  should  have  effected  an  invasion,  and  succeeded 
in  disembarking  so  large  a  force,  without  the  slightest  inti- 
mation being  had,  until  they  were  accidently  discovered 
emerging  from  the  swamp  and  woods,  about  seven  miles  below 
the  town :  why  it  so  happened,  traitors  may  conjecture,  al- 
though the  truth  is  yet  unknown.  The  general  impression 
is,  that  it  was  through  information  given  by  a  small  party 
of  Spanish  fisherman,  that  so  secret  a  disembarkation  was 
effected.  Several  of  them  had  settled  at  the  mouth  of  this 
bayou,  and  supported  themselves  by  fish  they  caught,  and 
vended  in  the  market  at  New  Orleans.  Obstructions,  had 
been  ordered  to  be  made  on  every  inlet,  and  the  Louisiana 
militia  had  been  detached  for  that  purpose.  This  place  had 
not  received  the  attention  its  importance  merited :  nor  was 
it  until  the  22d,  that  General  Villery,  charged  with  the  execu- 
tion of  this  order,  had  placed  here  a  small  handful  of  men. 


224  LTVKS  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Towa  rds  day,  the  enemy,  silently  proceeding  up  the  bayou, 
landed,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  whole  of  this  party, 
hut  two,  who,  fleeing  to  the  swamp,  endeavored  to  reach  the 
city ;  but,  owing  to  the  thick  undergrowth,  and  briars,  which 
rendered  it  almost  impervious,  they  did  not  arrive,  until  after 
the  enemy  had  reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  beei^ 
discovered. 

The  approach  of  the  enemy,  flushed  with  the  hope  of  easy 
victory,  was  announced  to  Jackson,  a  little  after  one  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  There  were  too  many  reasons,  assuring 
him  of  the  necessity  of  acting  speedily,  to  hesitate  a  moment, 
on  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued.  Could  he  assail  them, 
and  obtain  even  a  partial  advantage,  it  might  be  beneficial — 
it  might  arrest  disaffection — buoy  up  the  despondent — de- 
termine the  wavering,  and  bring  within  his  reach  resources 
for  to-morrow,  which  might  Avholly  fail,  should  fear  once 
take  possession  of  the  public  mind.  He  resolved,  at  all  events, 
to  march,  and,  that  night,  give  them  battle.  Generals  Coffee 
and  Carroll  were  ordered  to  proceed  immediately  from  their 
encampment,  and  join  him,  with  all  haste.  Although  four 
miles  above,  they  arrived  in  the  city,  in  less  than  two  hours 
after  the  order  had  been  issued.  These  forces,  with  the  7th 
and  44th  regiments,  *.he  Louisiana  troops,  and  Colonel  Hinds's 
dragoons,  constituted  the  strength  of  his  army,  which  could 
be  carried  into  action  against  an  enemy,  whose  numbers,  at 
this  time,  could  only  be  conjectured.  It  was  thought  ad- 
visable to  leave  Carroll  and  his  division  behind ;  for  notwith- 
standing there  was  no  correct  information  cf  the  force  landed 
thi  mgh  Villery's  canal,  yet  Jackson  feared  that  this  was 
only  a  feint,  intended  to  divert  his  attention,  while,  in  all 
probability,  a  much  stronger  and  more  numerous  division, 
having  already  gained  some  point,  higher  on  the  ?ake,  might, 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  225 

by  advancing  in  his  absence,  gain  his  rear,  and  succeed  in 
their  views.  Uncertain  of  their  movements,  it  was  essential 
he  should  be  prepared  for  the  worst,  and,  by  different  dispo- 
Bitions  of  his  troops,  be  ready  to  resist,  in  whatever  quarter 
he  might  be  assailed.  Carroll,  therefore,  at  the  head  of  his 
division,  and  Governor  Claiborne,  with  the  state  militia,  were 
directed  to  take  post  on  the  Gentilly  road,  leading  from  Chef 
Menteur  to  New  Orleans,  and  to  defend  it  to  the  last  extrem- 
ity. Colonel  Hayne,  with  two  companies  of  riflemen,  and 
the  Mississippi  dragoons,  was  sent  forward,  to  reconnoitre 
their  camp,  learn  their  position  and  their  numbers,  and,  in 
the  event  they  should  be  found  advancing,  to  harrass  and 
oppose  them  at  every  step,  until  the  main  body  should  arrive. 
The  general  arrived  in  view  of  the  enemy,  a  little  before 
dark.  Having  previously  ascertained,  from  Colonel  Hayne, 
their  position,  and  that  their  strength  was  about  two  thousand 
men,  he  immediately  concerted  the  mode,  of  attack,  and  has- 
tened to  execute  it.  Commodore  Patterson,  commanding 
the  naval  forces,  with  Captain  Henley,  on  board  the  Caro- 
line, had  been  directed  to  drop  down,  anchor  in  front  of 
their  line,  and  open  upon  them  from  the  guns  of  the  schooner ; 
which  being  the  signal  for  attack,  was  to  be  waged  simul- 
taneously on  all  sides.  The  fires  from  their  camp  disclosed 
their  position,  and  showed  their  encampment,  formed  with 
the  left  resting  on  the  river,  and  extending  at  right  angles 
into  the  open  field.  General  Coffee,  wjth  his  brigade,  Colonel 
Hinds's  dragoons,  and  Captain  Beal's  company  of  riflemen, 
was  ordered  to  oblique  to  the  left,  and,  by  a  circuitous  route, 
avoid  their  piquets,  and  endeavor  to  turn  their  right  wing; 
having  succeeded  in  this,  to  form  his  line,  and  press  the 
•  enemy  towards  the  river,  where  they  would  be  exposed  more 
completely  to  the  fire  of  the  Caroline.  The  rest  of  the  troops, 


226  LIVE!  or  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

consisting  of  the  regulars,  Plauche's  city  volunteers,  Daquin's 
colored  troops,  the  artillery  under  Lieutenant  Spotts,  sup- 
ported by  a  company  of  marines,  commanded  by  Colonel 
M'Kee,  advanced  along  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
were  commanded  by  Jackson  in  person. 

"  General  Coffee  had  advanced  beyond  their  piquets,  next 
Ihc  swamp,  and  nearly  reached  the  point  to  which  he  was 
ordered,  when  a  broadside  from  the  Caroline  announced  the 
battle  begun.  Patterson  had  proceeded  slowly,  giving  time, 
as  he  believed,  for  the  execution  of  those  arrangements  con- 
templated on  the  shore.  So  sanguine  had  the  British  been 
in  the  belief  that  they  would  be  kindly  received,  and  little 
opposition  attempted,  that  the  Caroline  floated  by  the  sen- 
tinels, and  anchored  before  their  camp,  without  any  kind  of 
molestation.  On  passing  the  front  piquet,  she  was  hailed, 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  but  returning  no  answer,  no  further 
question  was  made.  This,  added  to  some  other  attendant 
circumstances,  confirmed  the  opinion  that  they  believed  her 
a  vessel  laden  with  provisions,  which  had  been  sent  out 
from  New  Orleans,  and  was  intended  for  them.  Having 
reached  what,  from  their  fires,  appeared  to  be  the  centre  of 
their  encampment,  her  anchors  were  cast,  and  her  character 
and  business  disclosed  from  her  guns.  So  unexpected  an 
attack  produced  a  momentary  confusion ;  but,  recovering, 
they  answered  her  by  a  discharge  of  musketry,  and  flight 
of  congreve  rockets,  which  passed  without  injury,  while  her 
grape  and  canister  were  pouring  destructively  on  them.  To 
take  away  the  certainty  of  aim  afforded  by  their  camp  fires, 
those  were  immediately  extinguished,  and  they  retired  two 
or  three  hundred  yards  into  the  open  field,  if  riot  out  of 
reach  of  the  cannon,  at  least  to  a  distance,  where,  by  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  they  would  be  protected. 


ANDKEW  JACKSON.  227 

Coffee  had  demounted  his  men,  and  turned  hi»  horsea 
Io3se,  at  a  large  ditch,  next  the  swamp,  in  the  rear  of  Lo« 
rond's  plantation,  and  gained,  as  he  believed,  the  centre  of 
the  enemy's  line,  when  the  signal  of  the  Caroline  reached 
him.  He  directly  wheeled  his  columns  in,  and,  extending 
his  lines  parallel  with  the  river,  moved  toward  their  camp. 
He  had  scarcely  advanced  more  than  a  hundred  yards, 
when  he  received  a  heavy  fire,  from  a  line  formed  in  his 
front ;  this,  to  him,  was  an  unexpected  circumstance,  as  he 
supposed  the  enemy  lying  principally  at  a  distance,  and  that 
the  only  opposition  he  should  meet,  until  he  approached  to- 
wards the  levee,  would  be  from  their  advanced  guards.  The 
circumstance  of  his  coming  up  with  them  so  soon,  was  owing 
to  the  severe  attack  of  the  schooner,  which  had  compelled 
them  to  abandon  their  camp,  and  form  without  the  reach 
of  her  guns. 

The  moon  shone,  but  shed  her  light  too  feebly  to  d;s- 
cover  objects  at  a  distance.  The  only  chance,  therefore, 
of  producing  certain  injury,  with  this  kind  of  force,  which 
consisted  chiefly  of  riflemen,  was  not  to  venture  at  random, 
but  only  to  discharge  their  pieces  when  there  should  bo  a 
certainty  of  felling  their  object.  This  order  being  given, 
the  line  pressed  on,  and,  having  gained  a  position  near 
enough  to  distinguish,  a  general  fire  was  given  ;  it  was  too 
severe  and  destructive  to  be  withstood ;  the  enemy  gave 
way,  and  retreated, — rallied, — formed, — were  charged,  and 
again  retreated.  These  gallant  men,  led  by  their  bravo 
commander,  urged  fearlessly  on,  and  drove  them  from  every 
position  they  attempted  to  maintain.  Their  general  was 
under  no  necessity  to  encourage  and  allure  them  to  deeds 
of  valor :  his  own  example  was  sufficient  to  excite  them. 
Always  in  the  midst,  he  displayed  a  coolness  and  disregard 


228  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

of  danger,  calling  to  his  troops,  that  they  had  often  saiJ 
they  could  fight — now  was  the  time  to  prove  it. 

The  enemy,  driven  back  by  the  resolute  firmness  and 
ardor  of  their  assailants,  had  now  reached  a  grove  of  orange 
trees,  with  a  ditch  running  past  it,  protected  by  a  fence  on 
the  margin.  It  was  a  favorable  position,  promising  security, 
and  was  occupied  with  a  confidence  that  they  could  not  be 
forced  to  yield  it.  Coffee's  dauntless  yeomanry,  strength- 
ened in  their  hopes  of  success,  moved  on,  nor  discovered  the 
advantages  against  them,  until  a  fire  from  the  whole  British 
line  showed  their  defence.  A  momentary  check  was  given  ; 
but,  gathering  fresh  ardor,  they  charged  across  the  ditch, 
gave  a  deadly  and  destructive  fire,  and  forced  them  to  re- 
tire. Their  retreat  continued,  until,  gaining  a  similar  posi- 
tion, they  made  another  stand,  and  were  again  driven  from 
it,  with  considerable  loss. 

Thus  the  battle  raged,  on  the  left  wing,  until  the  British 
reached  the  bank  of  the  river  ;  here  a  determined  stand  was 
made,  and  further  encroachments  resisted :  for  half  an  hour, 
the  conflict  was  extremely  violent  on  both  sides.  The  Ame- 
rican troops  could  not  be  driven  from  their  purpose,  nor  the 
British  made  to  yield  their  ground ;  but  at  length,  having 
Buffered  greatly,  the  latter  were  under  the  necessity  of  hak- 
ing  refuge  behind  the  levee,  which  afforded  a  breast-work, 
and  protected  them  from  the  fatal  fire  of  the  riflemen, 
Coffee,  unacquainted  with  their  position,  for  the  darkness 
had  greatly  increased,  already  contemplated  again  to  charge 
them  ;  but  Major  Moulton,  who  had  discovered  their  situa- 
tion, assured  him  it  was  too  hazardous ;  that  they  could  be 
driven  no  further,  and  would,  from  the  point  they  occupied, 
resist  with  the  bayonet,  and  repel,  with  considerable  loss, 
any  attempt  to  dislodge  them.  A  further  apprehension, 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  229 

lest,  tty  moving  still  nearer  to  the  river,  he  might  greatly 
expose  himself  to  the  fire  of  the  Caroline,  which  was  yet 
spiritedly  maintaining  the  conflict,  induced  Coffee  to  retire 
until  he  could  hear  from  the  commanding  general,  and 
receive  his  further  orders. 

During  this  time,  the  right  wing,  under  Jackson,  was 
no  less  prompt  and  active.  A  detachment  of  artillery,  un- 
der Lieutenant  Spotts,  supported  by  sixty  marines,  formed 
the  advance,  and  had  moved  down  the  road,  next  the  levee. 
On  their  left  was  the  7th  regiment  of  infantry,  led  by 
Major  Piere.  The  44th,  commanded  by  Major  Baker,  was 
Tormed  on  the  extreme  left ;  while  Plauche's  and  Daqum's 
battalions  of  city  guards,  were  directed  to  be  posted  in  the 
centre,  between  the  7th  and  44th. 

Instead  of  marching  in  column  from  the  first  position, 
the  troops  were  wheeled  into  an%  extended  line,  and  moved 
off  in  this  order,  except  the  7th  regiment,  next  the  person 
of  the  general,  which  advanced  agreeably  to  the  instructions 
that  had  been  given.  Having  sufficient  ground  to  form  on 
at  first,  no  inconvenience  was  at  the  moment  sustained : 
but  this  advantage  presently  failing,  the  centre  was  com- 
pressed, and  forced  into  the  rear.  The  river,  from  where 
they  were,  gradually  inclined  to  the  left,  and  diminished 
the  .space  originally  possessed  :  farther  in,  stood  Lorond's 
house,  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  clustered  orange  trees: 
this  pressing  the  left,  and  the  river  the  right  wing  to  the 
centre,  formed  a  curve,  which  threw  the  principal  part  of 
Plauche's  and  Daquin's  battalions  without  the  line.  Thia 
might  have  been  remedied,  but  for  the  briskness  of  the  ad- 
?ance,  and  the  darkness  of  the  night.  A  heavy  fire  from 
behind  a  fence,  immediately  before  them,  had  brought  the 
enemy  to  view.  Acting  in  obedience  to  their  orders,  not  to 


230 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


waste  their  ammunition  at  random,  our  troops  had  pressed 
forward  against  the  opposition  in  their  front,  and  thereby 
threw  those  battalions  in  the  rear. 

A  fog  rising  from  the  river,  which,  added  to  the  smoke 
from  the  guns,  was  covering  the  plain, — gradually  diminish- 
ing the  little  light  shed  by  the  moon,  and  greatly  increasing 
the  darkness  of  the  night :  no  clue  was  left,  to  tell  how  or 
where  the  enemy  were  situated.  There  was  no  alternative 
but  to  move  on,  in  the  direction  of  their  fire,  which  sub- 
jected the  assailants  to  material  disadvantages.  The  British, 
driven  from  their  first  position,  had  retired  back,  and  occu- 
pied another,  behind  a  deep  ditch,  that  ran  out  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi towards  the  swamp,  on  the  top  of  which  was  a  high 
fence.  Here,  strengthened  by  increased  numbers,  they 
again  opposed  the  approach  of  our  troops.  Having  waited, 
until  they  had  come  sufficiently  near  to  be  discovered,  they 
discharged,  from  their  fastnesses,  a  fire  upon  the  advancing 
army.  Instantly  our  battery  was  formed,  and  poured  de- 
structively upon  them ;  while  the  infantry,  coming  up,  aided 
in  the  conflict,  which  was  for  some  time  spiritedly  maintained. 
At  this  moment,  a  brisk  sally  was  made  upon  our  advance, 
when  the  marines,  unequal  to  the  assault,  were  already  gi^- 
ing  way.  The  adjutant-general,  and  Colonels  Piatt  ar  d 
Chotard,  with  a  part  of  the  7th,  hastening  to  their  support, 
drove  the  enemy  and  saved  the  artillery  from  capture.  Ge- 
neral Jackson,  perceiving  the  advantages  they  derived  from 
their  position,  ordered  their  line  to  be  charged.  It  was 
obeyed  with  cheerfulness,  and  executed  with  promptness. 
Pressing  on,  our  troops  gained  the  ditch,  and,  pouring 
across  it  a  well-aimed  fire,  compelled  them  to  retreat,  and 
abandon  their  entrenchment.  The  plain,  on  which  they 
were  contending,  was  cut  to  pieces,  by  races  from  the  river, 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  231 

to  convey  the  water.  They  were  therefore,  very  soon  ena- 
bled to  take  another  situation,  equally  favorable  with  the 
one  whence  they  had  been  just  driven,  where  they  formed 
for  baftle,  and,  for  some  time,  gallantly  maintained  them- 
selves ;  Nit  were  at  length  forced  to  yield  it,  and  retreat. 

The  enemy,  discovering  the  firm  and  obstinate  resistance 
made  by  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army,  and  per- 
haps presuming  its  principal  strength  was  posted  on  the 
road,  formed  the  intention  of  attacking  violently  the  left. 
Obliquing  for  this  purpose,  an  attempt  was  made  to  turn  it. 
At  this  moment,  Daquin's  and  the  battalion  of  city  guards 
were  marched  up,  and,  being  formed  on  the  left  of  the  44th, 
met  and  repulsed  them. 

The  enemy  had  beeen  thrice  assailed  and  beaten,  and 
been  made  to  yield  their  ground  for  nearly  a  mile.  They 
had  now  retired,  and,  if  found,  were  to  be  again  sought  for 
through  the  dark.  The  general  determined  to  halt,  and 
ascertain  Coffee's  position  and  success,  previously  to  waging 
the  battle  further,  for  as  yet  no  communication  had  passed 
between  them.  He  entertained  no  doubt,  from  the  brisk 
firing  in  that  direction,  but  that  he  had  been  warmly  engaged ; 
but  this  had  now  nearly  subsided ;  the  Caroline,  too,  had  al- 
most ceased  her  operations  ;  it  being  only  occasionally,  that 
the  noise  of  her  guns  disclosed  the  little  opportunity  she 
possessed  of  acting  efficiently. 

The  express  despatched  to  General  Jackson,  from  the  left 
wing,  having  reached  him,  he  determined  to  prosecute  the 
successes  he  had  gained  no  further.  The  darkness  of  the 
night, — the  confusion  into  which  his  own  division  had  been 
thrown,  and  a  similar  one  on  the  part  of  Coffee,  all  pointed 
to  the  necessity  of  retiring  from  the  field,  and  abandoning 
the  contest.  General  Coffee  was  accordingly  directed  to  with- 


232  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

draw,  and  take  a  position  at  Lorond's  plantation,  where  the 
line  had  been  first  formed :  and  thither  the  troops  on  the 
right  were  also  ordered  to  be  marched. 

From  the  experiment  just  made,  Jackson  believed  it  would 
be  in  his  power,  on  renewing  the  attack,  to  capture  the 
3nemj  :  he  concluded,  therefore,  to  call  down  General  Car- 
roll with  his  division,  and  assail  him  again  at  the  dawn  of 
day.  Directing  Governor  Claiborne  to  remain  at  his  post, 
with  the  Louisiana  militia,  for  the  defence  of  the  Gentilly 
road,  he  despatched  an  order  to  Carroll,  in  the  event  there 
had  been  no  appearance  of  a  force  during  the  night,  in  the 
direction  of  Chef  Menteur,  to  hasten  and  join  him  with  his 
command;  which  order  was  executed  by  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Previously,  however,  to  his  arrival,  a  different  con- 
clusion was  taken.  Although  very  decided  advantages  had 
been  obtained,  yet  they  had  been  procured  under  circum- 
stances that  might  be  wholly  lost,  in  a  contest  waged  in  open 
day,  between  forces  so  disproportioned,  and  by  undisciplined 
troops  against  veteran  soldiers.  Jackson  well  knew  it  was 
incumbent  upon  him,  to  act  a  part  entirely  defensive  :  should 
the  attempt  to  gain  and  destroy  the  city  succeed,  numerous 
difficulties  would  arise,  which  might  be  avoided,  so  long  as  he 
could  hold  the  enemy  in  check,  and  halt  him  in  his  designs. 
Prompted  by  these  considerations, — that  it  was  important 
to  pursue  a  course  calculated  to  assure  safety ;  and  believing 
it  attainable  in  no  way  so  effectually,  as  in  occupying  some 
point,  and  by  the  strength  he  might  give  it,  make  up  for  the 
inferiority  of  his  numbers  ;  he  determined  to  forbear  all  fur- 
ther efforts,  until  he  should  discover  more  certainly  the  views 
of  the  enemy,  and  until  the  Kentucky  troops  should  reach 
him,  which  had  not  yet  arrived.  Pursuing  this  idea,  at  four 
o'clock,  having  ordered  Colonel  Hinds  to  occupy  the  ground 


ANDKEW  JACKSON.  233 

he  was  then  leaving,  and  to  observe  the  enemy  closely,  he 
fell  back,  and  formed  his  line  behind  a  deep  ditch,  that  ran 
at  right  angles  from  the  river. 

To  present  a  check,  and  keep  up  a  show  of  resistance, 
detachments  of  light  troops  were  occasionally  kept  in  front  of 
the  line,  assailing  and  harassing  the  enemy's  advanced  posts, 
whenever  an  opportunity  was  offered  of  acting  to  advantage , 
Every  moment  that  could  be  gained,  and  every  delay  that 
could  be  extended  to  the  enemy's  attempts,  to  reach  the 
the  city,  was  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  works  were 
rapidly  progressing,  and  hourly  increasing  in  strength.  The 
militia  of  the  state  were  every  day  arriving,  and  every  day 
the  prospect  of  successful  opposition  was  brightening. 

The  enemy  still  remained  at  his  first  encampment.  To 
be  in  readiness  to  repel  an  assault  when  attempted,  the 
most  active  exertions  were  made  on  the  24th  and  25th.  The 
canal,  covering  the  front  of  our  line,  was  deepened  and 
widened,  and  a  strong  mud  wall  formed  of  the  earth,  that 
had  been  originally  thrown  out.  To  prevent  any  approach 
until  his  system  of  defence  should  be  in  a  state  of  forward- 
ness, Jackson  ordered  the  levee  to  be  cut,  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  below.  The  river  being  very  high,  a  broad 
stream  of  water  passed  rapidly  through  the  plain,  of  the 
depth  of  thirty  or  forty  inches,  which  prevented  any  ap- 
proach of  troops  on  foot.  Embrasures  were  formed,  and 
cwo  pieces  of  artillery,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Spotts,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th,  were  placed  in  a 
position  to  rake  the  road  leading  up  the  levee. 

General  Morgan,  who,  at  the  English  turn,  commanded 
the  fort  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  was  instructed  to  pro 
ceed  as  near  the  enemy's  camp  as  prudence  and  safety  would 
permit,  and  by  destroying  the  levees,  to  let  in  the  waters  of 


234 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


the  Mississippi  between  them.  The  execution  of  this  order, 
and  a  similar  one,  previously  made,  below  the  line  of  de- 
fence, had  entirely  insulated  the  enemy,  and  prevented  hia 
march  against  either  place.  On  the  26th,  however,  the 
commanding  general,  fea'ring  for  the  situation  of  Morgan, 
who,  from  the  British  occupying  the  intermediate  ground, 
was  entirely  detached  from  his  camp,  directed  him  to  aban- 
don his  encampment,  carry  off  what  cannon  might  be  wanted, 
and  throw  the  remainder  into  the  river,  where  they  could 
be  again  recovered,  when  the  waters  receded ;  to  retire  to 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  and,  after  leaving  an  adequate 
force,  for  the  protection  of  Fort  Leon,  to  take  a  position 
on  the  right  bank,  nearly  opposite  to  his  line,  and  have  it 
fortified. 

As  yet  the  enemy  knew  nothing  of  the  position  of  Jackson. 
What  was  his  situation — what  was  intended — whether  offen- 
sive or  defensive  operations  would  be  pursued,  were  circum- 
stances on  which  they  possessed  no  correct  knowledge  ;  still, 
their  exertions,  to  have  all  things  prepared,  to  urge  their 
designs,  whenever  the  moment  for  action  should  arrive,  were 
unremitting.  They  had  been  constantly  engaged,  since  their 
landing,  in  procuring  from  their  shipping,  every  thing  ne- 
cessary to  ulterior  operations.  A  complete  command  on  the 
lakes,  and  possession  of  a  point  on  the  margin,  presented  an 
uninterrupted  egress,  and  afforded  the  opportunity  of  con- 
veying what  was  wanted,  in  perfect  safety  to  their  camp. 
The  height  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  discharge  of  water, 
through  the  openings  made  in  the  levee,  had  given  an  in- 
creased depth  to  the  canal,  from  which  they  had  first  de- 
barked— enabled  them  to  advance  their  boats  much  further, 
in  the  direction  of  their  encampment,  and  to  bring  up,  with 
greater  convenience,  their  artillery,  bombs,  and  munitions. 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 

Thus  engaged,  during  the  first  three  days  after  their  arrival , 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  a  battery  was  discovered 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  had  been  thrown  up  during 
the  preceding  night,  and  on  which  were  mounted  several 
pieces  of  heavy  ordnance ;  from  it  a  destructive  fire  was 
opened  on  the  Caroline  schooner,  lying  under  the  opposite 
shore. 

A  well  grounded  apprehension,  of  her  commander,  that 
she  could  be  no  longer  defended, — the  flames  bursting 
out  in  different  parts,  and  fast  increasing,  induced  a  fear, 
lest  the  magazine  should  soon  be  reached,  arid  every  thing 
destroyed.  One  of  his  crew  being  killed,  and  six  wounded, 
and  there  being  not  the  glimmering  of  hope  that  she  could 
be  preserved,  orders  were  given  to  abandon  her.  The  crew 
reached  the  shore,  and  in  a  short  time  afterwards  she  blew 
up.  Although  thus  unexpectedly  deprived  of  so  material 
a  dependence,  for  successful  defence,  an  opportunity  was 
soon  presented,  of  using  her  brave  crew  to  advantage. 
Gathering  confidence,  from  what  had  been  just  effected,  the 
enemy  left  their  encampment,  and  moved  in  the  direction 
of  our  line.  Their  numbers  had  been  increased,  and  Major- 
General  Sir  Edward  Packenham  now  commanded  in  person. 
Early  on  the  28th,  his  columns  commenced  their  advance 
to  storm  the  works.  At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  their 
heavy  artillery  opened,  and  quantities  of  bombs,  balls,  and 
congreve  rockets,  were  discharged.  At  the  moment  that 
the  British,  in  different  columns,  were  moving  up,  in  all  the 
pomp  and  parade  of  battle,  the  batteries  opened,  and  halted 
their  advance.  In  addition  to  the  two  mounted  on  tho 
works,  on  the  24th,  three  other  heavy  pieces  of  camion, 
obtained  from  the  navy  department,  had  been  formed  along 
the  line ;  these  opening  on  the  enemy,  checked  their  pro- 


236  LJVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

gress,  and  disclosed  to  them  the  hazard  of  the  project  they 
were  on. 

From  the  river  the  greatest  injury  was  done.  Lieutenant 
Thompson,  who  commanded  the  Louisiana  sloop,  which  lay 
nearly  opposite  the  line  of  defence,  no  sooner  discovered 
the  columns  approaching,  than  warping  her  around,  he 
brought  her  starboard  guns  to  bear,  and  forced  them  to  re- 
treat ;  but  from  their  heavy  artillery,  the  enemy  maintained 
the  conflict  with  great  spirit,  constantly  discharging  their 
bombs  and  rockets,  for  seven  hours,  when,  unable  to  make  a 
breach,  or  silence  the  sloop,  they  abandoned  a  contest,  where 
few  advantages  seemed  to  be  presented.  The  loss  was  se- 
vere. While  this  advance  was  made,  a  column  of  the  enemy 
was  threatening  an  attack  on  our  extreme  left ;  to  frustrate 
the  attempt,  Coffee  was  ordered,  with  his  riflemen,  to  hasten 
through  the  woods,  and  check  their  approach.  The  enemy, 
although  greatly  superior  to  him  in  numbers,  no  sooner  dis- 
covered his  movement,  than  they  retired,  and  abandoned 
the  attack  they  had  previously  meditated. 

The  British  were  encamped  two  miles  below  the  Ameri- 
can army,  on  a  perfect  plain,  and  in  full  view.  Although 
foiled  in  their  attempt  to  carry  our  works  by  the  force  of 
their  batteries,  on  the  28th,  they  yet  resolved  upon  another 
attack,  and  one  which  they  believed  would  be  more  success- 
ful. The  interim  between  the  28th  of  December  and  1st 
of  January  was  spent  in  preparing  to  execute  their  designs. 
Their  boats  had  been  despatched  to  the  shipping,  and  an 
additional  supply  of  heavy  cannon  landed  through  Bayou 
Bienvenu,  whence  they  had  first  debarked. 

During  the  night  of  the  31st,  they  were  busily  engaged. 
An  impenetrable  fog,  next  morning,  which  was  not  dispelled 
until  nine  o'clock,  by  concealing  their  purpose,  aided  them 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  237 

% 

in  the  plans  they  were  projecting,  and  gave  time  for  the  com- 
pletion of  their  works.  This  having  disappeared,  several 
heavy  batteries,  at  the  distance  of  six  hundred  yards,  mounting 
eighteen  and  twenty-four  pound  carronades,  were  presented 
to  view.  No  sooner  was  it  sufficiently  clear  to  distinguish 
objects  at  a  distance,  than  these  were  opened,  and  a  tremen- 
dous burst  of  artillery  commenced,  accompanied  with  con- 
greve  rockets,  that  filled  the  air  in  all  directions.  Our  troops 
protected  by  a  defence,  which,  from  their  constant  labors  and 
exertions,  they  believed  to  be  impregnable,  unmoved  and  un- 
disturbed, maintained  their  ground,  and,  by  their  skilful 
management,  in  the  end,  succeeded  in  dismounting  and 
silencing  the  guns  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1815,  the  long-expected  reinforce- 
ment from  Kentucky,  amounting  to  twenty-two  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Thomas, 
arrived  at  head-quarters  ;  but  so  ill  provided  with  arms,  as 
to  be  incapable  of  rendering  any  considerable  service.  The 
alacrity  with  which  the  citizens  of  this  state  had  proceeded 
to  the  frontiers,  and  aided  in  the  north-western  campaigns, 
added  to  disasters  which  ill-timed  policy  or  misfortune 
had  produced,  had  created  such  a  drain,  that  arms  were 
not  to  be  procured.  No  alternative  was  presented,  but  to 
place  them  at  his  entrenchment  in  the  rear ;  and  by  the 
show  that  they  might  make,  add  to  his  appearance  and 
numbers,  without  at  all  increasing  his  strength.  Informa- 
tion was  now  received  that  Major-General  Lambert  had 
joined  the  British  commander-in-chief,  with  a  considerable 
reinforcement.  It  had  been  heretofore  announced  in  the 
American  camp,  that  additional  forces  were  expected,  and 
something  decisive  might  be  looked  for,  as  soon  as  they 
should  arrive.  This  circumstance,  in  connection  with  ethers, 


238 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


no  less  favoring  theidea,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  a  few  more 
days  would,  in  all  probability,  bring  on  the  struggle,  which 
would  decide  the  fate  of  the  city. 

For  eight  days  had  the  two  armies  lain  upon  the  same 
field,  and  in  view  of  each  other,  without  any  thing  decisive 
being  on  either  side  effected.  Twice,  since  their  landing, 
had  the  British  columns  essayed  to  effect  by  storm  the  exe- 
cution of  their  plans,  and  twice  had  failed — been  compelled 
to  relinquish  the  attempt,  and  retire  from  the  contest. 

The  8th  of  January  at  length  arrived.  The  day  dawned ; 
and  the  signals,  intended  to  produce  concert  in  the  enemy's 
movements,  were  descried.  On  the  left,  near  the  swamp, 
a  sky-rocket  was  perceived  rising  in  the  air ;  and  presently 
another  ascended  from  the  right,  near  the  river.  They 
announced  to  each  other,  that  all  was  prepared  and  ready, 
to  proceed  and  carry  by  storm,  a  defence  which  had  twice 
foiled  their  utmost  efforts.  Instantly  the  charge  was  made, 
and  with  such  rapidity,  that  our  soldiers,  at  the  out-posts, 
with  difficulty  fled  in. 

The  British  batteries,  which  had  been  demolished  on  the 
1st  of  the  month,  had  been  re-established  during  the  pre- 
ceding night ;  and  heavy  pieces  of  cannon  mounted,  to  aid 
in  their  intended  operation.  These  now  opened,  and  showers 
of  bombs  and  balls  were  poured  upon  our  line ;  while  the 
air  was  lighted  with  their  congreve  rockets.  The  two  divi- 
sions, commanded  by  Sir  Edward  Packenham  ir  person, 
and  supported  by  Generals  Keane  and  Gibbs,  pressed  for- 
ward ;  the  right  against  the  centre  of  General  Carroll's  com- 
mand,— the  left  against  our  redoubt  on  the  levee.  A  thick 
fog,  that  obscured  the  morning,  enabled  them  to  approach 
within  a  short  distance  of  our  intrenchment,  before  they 
were  discovered.  They  were  now  perceived  advancing,  with 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  239 

firm,  quick,  and  steady  pace,  in  column,  with  a  front  of  sixty 
or  seventy  deep.  Our  troops  who  for  some  time  had  been 
in  readiness,  and  waiting  their  appearance,  gave  three  cheers, 
and  instantly  the  whole  line  was  lighted  with  the  blaze  of 
their  fire.  A  burst  of  artillery  and  small  arms,  pcuring  with 
destructive  aim  among  them,  mowed  down  their  front,  and 
arrested  their  advance.  In  the  musketry,  there  was.  not  a 
moment's  intermission  ;  as  one  party  discharged  their  pieces, 
another  succeeded ;  alternately  loading  and  appearing,  no 
pause  could  be  perceived, — it  was  one  3ontinued  volley.  The 
columns  already  perceived  their  dangerous  and  exposed  sit- 
uation. Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  our  fire,  which  few 
troops,  could  for  a  moment  have  withstood,  some  of  those 
brave  men  pressed  on,  and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  ditch, 
in  front  of  our  works,  where  they  remained  during  the  action, 
and  were  afterwards  made  prisoners.  The  horror  before 
tljem  was  too  great  to  be  withstood ;  and  already  were  the 
British  troops  seen  wavering  in  their  determination,  and  re- 
ceding from  the  conflict.  At  this  moment,  Sir  Edward 
Packeriham,  hastening  to  the  front,  endeavored  to  encourage 
and  inspire  them  with  renewed  zeal.  His  example  was  of 
short  continuance :  he  soon  fell,  mortally  wounded,  in  the 
arms  of  his  aid-de-camp,  not  far  from  our  line.  Generals 
Gibbs  and  Keane  also  fell,  and  were  borne  from  the  field, 
dangerously  wounded.  At  this  moment,  General  Lambert, 
who  was  advancing  at  a  small  distance  in  the  rear, with  the 
reserve,  met  the  columns  precipitately  retreating,  and  in 
great  confusion.  His  efforts  to  stop  them  were  unavailing, — 
they  continued  retreating,  until  they  reached  a  ditch,  at  the 
distance  of  four  hundred  yards,  where  a  momentary  safety 
being  found,  they  were  rallied,  and  halted. 

The  field  before  them,  over  which  they  had  advanced,  was 


240  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

strewed  ,?ith  the  dead  and  dying.  Danger  hovered  still 
around,  yet,  urged  and  encouraged  by  thair  officers,  who 
feared  their  own  disgrace  involved  in  the  failure,  they  again 
moved  to  the  charge  They  were  already  near  enough  to 
deploy,  and  were  endeavoring  to  do  so ;  but  the  same  con- 
stant and  unremitted  resistance,  that  caused  their  first  retreat, 
continued  yet  unabated.  The  batteries  had  never  ceased 
their  firing ;  their  constant  discharges  of  grape  and  canister, 
and  the  fatal  aim  of  the  musketry,  mowed  down  the  front 
of  the  columns,  as  fast  as  they  could  be  formed.  Satisfied 
nothing  could  be  done,  and  that  certain  destruction  awaited 
all  further  attempts,  they  forsook  the  contest  and  the  field 
in  disorder,  leaving  it  almost  entirely  covered  with  the  dead 
and  wouuded.  It  was  in  vain  their  officers  endeavored  to 
animate  them  to  further  resistance,  and  equally  vain  to  at- 
tempt coercion.  The  panic  produced  from  the  dreadful  re- 
pulse they  had  experienced ;  the  plain,  on  which  they  had 
acted,  being  covered  with  innumerable  bodies  of  their  country 
men  ;  while,  with  their  most  zealous  exertions,  they  had  been 
unable  to  obtain  the  slightest  advantage,  were  circumstances 
well  calculated  to  make  even  the  most  submissive  soldier 
oppose  the  authority  that  would  have  controlled  him. 

The  light  companies  of  fusileers ;  the  43d  and  93d  regi- 
ments, and  one  hundred  men  from  the  West  India  regiment, 
led  on  by  Colonel  Rennie,  were  ordered  to  proceed,  undei 
cover  of  some  chimneys,  standing  in  the  field,  until  having 
cleared  them,  to  oblique  to  the  river,  and  advance,  protected 
•by  the  levee,  against  our  redoubt  on  the  right.  This  work 
having  been  but  lately  commenced,  was  in  an  unfinished 
state.  It  was  not  until  the  4th,  that  General  Jackson,  much 
against  his  own  opinion,  had  yielded  to  the  suggestions 
of  others,  and  permitted  its  projection;  and,  considering 


A1TOREW  JACKSON.  241 

the  plan  on  which  it  had  been  sketched,  had  not  yet  received 
that  strength  necessary  to  its  safe  defence.  The  detachment, 
ordered  against  this  place,  formed  the  left  of  General  Keane's 
command.  Rennie  executed  his  orders  with  great  bravery, 
and,  urging  forward,  arrived  at  the  ditch.  His  advance  waa 
greatly  annoyed  by  Commodore  Patterson's  battery  on  the 
left  bank,  and  the  cannon  mounted  on  the  redoubt ;  but, 
reaching  our  works,  and  passing  the  ditch,  Rennie,  sword 
in  hand,  leaped  on  the  wall,  and,  calling  to  his  troops,  bade 
them  follow  ;  he  had  scarcely  spoken,  when  he  fell,  by  the 
fatal  aim  of  our  riflemen.  Pressed  by  the  impetuosity  of 
superior  numbers,  who  were  mounting  the  wall,  and  entering 
at  the  embrasures,  our  troops  had  retired  to  the  line,  in  rear 
of  the  redoubt.  A  momentary  pause  ensued,  but  only  to  be 
interrupted,  with  increased  horrors.  Captain  Beal,  with  the 
city  riflemen,  cool  and  self-possessed,  perceiving  the  enemy 
in  his  front,  opened  upon  them,  and  at  every  discharge 
brought  the  object  to  the  ground.  To  advance,  or  main- 
tain the  point  gained,  was  equally  impracticable  for  the 
enemy :  to  retreat  or  surrender  was  the  only  alternative ; 
for  they  already  perceived  the  division  on  the  right  thrown 
into  confusion,  and  hastily  leaving  the  field. 

General  Jackson,  being  informed  of  the  success  of  the 
enemy  on  the  right,  and  of  their  being  in  possession  of  the 
redoubt,  pressed  forward  a  reinforcement,  to  regain  it.  Pre- 
viously to  its  arrival,  they  had  abandoned  the  attempt,  and 
were  retiring.  They  were  severely  galled  by  such  of  our 
guns  as  could  be  brought  to  bear.  The  levee  afforded  them 
considerable  protection ;  yet,  by  Commodore  Patterson's  re- 
doubt, on  the  right  bank,  they  suffered  greatly.  Enfiladed 
by  this,  on  their  advance,  they  had  been  greatly  annoyed, 
and  n:>w,  in  their  retreat,  were  no  less  severely  assailed. 


242  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Numbers  found  a  grave  in  the  ditch,  before  our  line ;  and  of 
those  who  gained  the  redoubt,  no  one,  it  is  believed,  es- 
caped ; — they  Avere  shot  down,  as  fast  as  they  entered.  The 
route,  along  which  they  had  advanced  and  retired,  was  strewed 
with  bodies.  Affrighted  at  the  carnage,  they  moved  from  the 
scene,  hastily  and  in  confusion.  Our  batteries  were  still  con- 
tinuing the  slaughter,  and  cutting  them  down  at  every  step : 
safety  seemed  only  to  be  attainable,  when  they  should  have 
retired  without  the  range  of  our  shot ;  which,  to  troops 
galled  as  severely  as  they  were,  was  too  remote  a  relief. 
Pressed  by  this  consideration,  they  fled  to  the  ditch,  whither 
the  right  division  had  retreated ;  and  there  remained,  until 
night  permitted  them  to  retire. 

The  efforts  of  the  enemy  to  carry  the  line  of  defence  on 
the  left,  were  seconded  by  an  attack  on  the  right  bank, 
with  eight  hundred  chosen  troops,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Thornton.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  passing  the 
boats  from  the  canal  to  the  river,  and  the  strong  current 
of  the  Mississippi,  all  the  troops  destined  for  this  service 
were  not  crossed,  nor  the  opposite  shore  reached  for  some 
hours  after  the  expected  moment  of  attack.  By  the  time 
he  had  effected  a  landing,  the  day  had  dawned,  and  the 
flashes  of  the  gun  announced  the  battle  begun.  Supported 
by  the  three  gun-boats,  he  hastened  forward,  with  his  com- 
mand, in  the  direction  of  Morgan's  entrenchment. 

Colonel  Thornton  having  reached  an  orange  grove,  about 
seven  hundred  yards  distant,  halted ;  and,  examining  Mor- 
gan's line,  found  it  to  "  consist  of  a  formidable  redoubt  on 
the  river,"  with  its  weakest  and  most  vulnerable  point  to- 
wards the  swamp.  He  directly  advanced  to  the  attack,  in 
two  divisions,  against  the  extreme  right  and  centre  of  the 
line;  and,  having  deployed,  charged  the  entrenchment, 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  243 

defended  by  about  fifteen  hundred  men.  A  severe  discharge, 
from  the  field  pieces  mounted  along  our  works,  caused  the 
right  division  to  oblique,  which,  uniting  with  the  left,  pressed 
forward  to  the  point  occupied  by  the  Kentucky  troops.  Per- 
ceiving themselves  thus  exposed,  and  having  not  yet  re- 
sovered  from  the  emotions  produced  by  their  first  retreat, 
they  began  to  give  way,  and  very  soon  entirely  abandoned 
their  position.  The  Louisiana  militia  gave  a  few  fires,  and 
followed  the  example.  Through  the  exertions  of  the  officers, 
a  momentary  halt  was  effected ;  but  a  burst  of  congreve 
rockets,  falling  thickly,  and  firing  the  sugar-cane,  and  other 
combustibles  around,  again  excited  their  fears,  and  they 
moved  hastily  away ;  nor  could  they  be  rallied,  until,  at  the 
distance  of  two  miles,  having  reached  a  saw-mill  race,  they 
were  formed,  and  placed  in  an  attitude  of  defence. 

Commodore  Patterson,  perceiving  the  right  flank  about 
to  be  turned,  had  ceased  his  destructive  fire  against  the  re- 
treating columns  on  the  other  shore,  and  turned  his  guns 
to  enfilade  the  enemy  next  the  swamp  ;  but,  at  the  moment 
when  he  expected  to  witness  a  firm  resistance,  and  was  in  a 
situation  to  co-operate,  he  beheld  those,  without  whose  aid 
all  his  efforts  were  unavailing,  suddenly  thrown  into  confu- 
sion, and  forsaking  their  posts.  Discovering  he  could  no 
longer  maintain  his  ground,  he  spiked  his  guns,  destroyed 
his  ammunition,  and  retired  from  a  post,  where  he  had 
rendered  the  most  important  services. 

The  events  of  this  day  afford  abundant  evidence  of  the 
liberality  of  the  American  soldiers,  and  show  a  striking  dif- 
ference in  the  troops  of  the  two  nations.  The  gallantry  of 
the  British  soldiers,  and  no  people  could  have  displayed 
greater,  had  brought  many  of  them  even  to  our  ramparts, 
where,  shot  down  by  our  soldiers,  they  were  lying  badly 


244 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENT*. 


wounded.  When  the  firing  had  ceased,  and  the  columns 
had  retired,  the  troops,  with  generous  benevolence,  advanced 
over  their  lines,  to  assist  and  bring  in  the  wounded,  which, 
lay  under  and  near  the  walls,  when,  strange  to  tell,  the 
enemy,  from  the  ditch  they  occupied,  opened  a  fire  upon 
them,  and,  though  at  a  considerable  distance,  succeeded  in 
wounding  several. 

A  communication,  shortly  after,  from  Major-General 
Lambert,  on  whom,  in  consequence  of  the  fall  of  Generals 
Packenham,  Gibbs,  and  Keane,  the  command  had  devolved, 
acknowledges  to  have  witnessed  the  kindness  of  our  troops 
to  his  wounded.  He  solicits  of  General  Jackson  permission 
to  send  an  unarmed  party,  to  bury  the  dead,  lying  before 
his  lines,  and  to  bring  off  such  of  the  Avounded  as  were  dan- 
gerous. Jackson  consented  that  all  lying  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance than  three  hundred  yards,  should  be  relieved  and  the 
dead  buried :  those  nearer  were,  by  his  own  men,  to  be  de- 
livered over,  to  be  interred  by  their  own  countrymen. 
This  precaution  was  taken,  that  the  enemy  might  not  have 
an  opportunity  to  inspect,  or  know  any  thing  of  his  situation. 

General  Lambert,  desirous  of  administering  to  the  relief 
of  the  wounded,  and  to  be  relieved  from  his  apprehensions 
of  attack,  proposed,  about  noon,  that  hostilities  should  cease, 
until  the  same  hour  the  next  day.  General  Jackson,  greatly 
in  hopes  of  being  able  to  secure  an  important  advantage, 
by  his  apparent  willingness  to  accede  to  the  proposal,  drew 
up  an  armistice,  and  forwarded  it  to  General  Lambert,  with 
directions  to  be  immediately  returned,  if  approved.  It  con- 
tained a  stipulation,  that  hostilities,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river,  should  be  discontinued  from  its  ratification,  but  not 
on  the  right ;  and,  in  the  interim,  no  reinforcements  were 
to  be  sent  across,  by  either  party.  This  was  a  bold  stroke 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 


245 


at  stratagem  ;  and,  although  it  succeeded,  even  to  the  ex- 
tent desired,  was  yet  attended  with  considerable  hazard. 
Although  the  armistice  contained  a  request  that  it  should 
be  immediately  signed  and  returned,  it  was  neglected  tc  be 
acted  upon,  until  the  next  day ;  and  Thornton  and  his  com- 
mand, in  the  interim,  under  cover  of  the  night,  re-crossed, 
and  the  ground  they  occupied  left  to  be  peaceably  possessed 
by  the  original  holders.  The  opportunity  thus  afforded,  of 
regaining  a  position,  on  which,  in  a  great  degree,  depended 
the  safety  of  those  on  the  opposite  shore,  was  accepted  with 
an  avidity  its  importance  merited,  and  immediate  measures 
taken  to  increase  its  strength,  and  prepare  it  against  any 
future  attack  that  might  be  made.  This  delay  of  the  British 
commander  was  evidently  designed,  that,  pending  the  nego- 
tiation, and  before  it  were  concluded,  an  opportunity  might 
be  had,  either  of  throwing  over  reinforcements,  or  removing 
Colonel  Thornton  and  his  troops  from  a  situation  believed 
to  be  extremely  perilous1.  Early  next  morning,  General 
Lambert  returned  his  acceptance  of  what  had  been  proposed, 
with  an  apology  for  having  failed  to  reply  sooner ;  he  ex- 
cused the  omission,  by  pleading  a  press  of  business,  which 
had  occasioned  the  communication  to  be  overlooked  and 
neglected.  Jackson  was  at  no  loss  to  attribute  the  delay  to 
the  correct  motive :  the  apology,  however,  was  as  perfectly 
satisfactory  to  him,  as  any  thing  that  could  have  been  of- 
fered :  beyond  the  objects  intended  to  be  effected,  he  felt 
unconcerned,  and  having  secured  this,  rested  perfectly  satis- 
fied. It  cannot,  however,  appear  otherwise  than  extraordi- 
nary, that  this  neglect  should  have  been  ascribed  by  the 
British  general  to  accident,  or  a  press  of  business,  when  it 
must  have  been  no  doubt  of  greater  importance,  at  that  mo- 
ment, than  any  thing  he  could  possibly  have  had  before  him. 


246  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

The  conflict  was  ended,  and  each  army  occupied  it?  for- 
mer position.  In  appearance  the  enemy  were  visibly  altered', 
menace  was  sunk  into  dejection,  and  offensive  measures 
yielded  for  those  which  promised  safety.  The  attitude  so 
long  preserved,  was  now  abandoned ;  and  they  were  seen 
throwing  up  partial  defences,  to  guard  against  expected  at- 
tack. It  had  been  already  announced,  upon  good  authority, 
that  a  considerable  force  had  succeeded  in  passing  the  Ba- 
lize — made  prisoners  of  a  detachment  there,  and  was  pro- 
ceeding up  the  Mississippi,  to  co-operate  with  the  land  forces. 
It  was  intended  to  aid  in  the  battle  of  the  8th ;  but,  failing 
to  arrive  the  attack  had  been  made  without  it.  That 
the  enemy,  chagrined  and  mortified  at  the  failure  of  an 
effort,  into  which  the  idea  of  disappointment  had  never 
entered,  might  again  renew  the  attack,  on  the  arrival 
of  this  force,  was  a  probable  ovent,  and  every  preparation 
was  now  ordered  to  be  made  to  be  again  in  readiness  to 
repel  it. 

Of  this  formidable  advance,  no  certain  intelligence  was 
received,  until  the  night  of  the  llth,  when  a  heavy  can- 
nonading, supposed  to  be  on  Fort  St.  Philip,  was  distinctly 
heard.  Jackson  entertained  no  fears  for  the  result.  The  ad- 
vantages of  defence,  which  his  precaution  and  vigilance  had 
early  extended  to  this  passage,  added  to  his  entire  confi- 
dence in  the  skill  and  bravery  of  the  officer,  to  whom  it  had 
been  entrusted,  led  him  to  believe  there  was  nothing  to  be 
apprehended ;  and  that  every  thing  which  duty  and  bravery 
could  achieve,  would  be  done. 

Major  Overton,  who  commanded  at  this  place,  his  officers 
and  soldiers,  distinguished  themselves  by  their  aciinty  and 
vigilance.  To  arrest  the  enemy's  passage  up  the  nver,  and 
from  uniting  with  the  forces  below  the  city,  was  of  great 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  247 

importance  ;  and  to  succeed  in  preventing  it,  as  much  as 
could  be  expected.  This  was  accomplished. 

The  failure  of  the  squadron  to  ascend  the  river,  perhaps 
determined  General  Lambert,  in  the  course  Jie  immediately 
adopted.  His  situation  before  our  line  was  truly  unpleasant. 
Our  batteries,  after  the  8th,  were  continually  throwing 
balls  and  bombs  into  his  camp ;  and  whenever  a  party  of 
troops  appeared  in  the  field,  they  were  greatly  annoyed. 
Thus  harassed, — perceiving  that  all  assistance  through  this 
channel  }  id  failed  ;  and  constantly  in  apprehension  lest  an 
attack  should  be  made  upon  him,  he  resolved  on  availing 
himself  of  the  first  favorable  opportunity  to  depart  and  for- 
sake a  contest,  where  every  effort  had  met  disappointment, 
and  where  an  immense  number  of  troops  had  found  their 
graves.  The  precaution  taken  by  the  enemy,  and  the  ground 
over  which  they  were  retreating,  prevented  pursuit,  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  secure  any  valuable  result.  The  system 
of  operations  which  Jackson  had  prescribed  for  himself,  he 
believed  was  such  as  policy  sanctioned,  nor  to  be  abandoned 
but  for  the  advantages  evidently  certain,  and  which  admitted 
not  of  question.  To  have  pursued,  on  a  route  protected  and 
defended  by  canals,  redoubts,  and  entrenchments,  would,  at 
least,  have  been  adventuring  upon  an  uncertain  issue,  where 
success  wa^  extremely  problematical. 

Thus,  in  total  disappointment,  terminated  an  invasion 
from  which  much  had  been  expected.  Twenty-six  days 
ago,  flushed  with  the  hope  of  certain  victory,  had  this  army 
erected  its  standard  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  At 
that  moment  they  would  have  treated  with  contempt  an  as- 
sertion that  in  ten  days  they  would  not  enter  the  city  of  New 
Orleans.  How  changed  the  portrait,  from  the  expected 
reality !  On  the  20th,  General  Jackson,  with  his  remaining 


248  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

forces,  commenced  his  march  to  New  Orleans.  The  general 
glow  excited,  at  beholding  his  entrance  into  the  city,  at  the 
head  of  his  victorious  army,  was  manifested  hy  all  those 
feelings  which  patriotism  and  sympathy  inspire.  The  win- 
dows and  streets  were  crowded  to  view  the  man,  who,  by  his 
vigilance,  decision,  and  energy,  had  preserved  the  country 
from  the  fate  to  which  it  had  been  devoted. 

In  March,  several  statements  appeared  in  a  New  Orleans 
paper,  which  General  Jackson  thought  were  calculated  to 
introduce  discontent  and  insubordination  among  the  troops. 
These  statements  were  rumors  of  peace.  'They  were  true, 
but  the  general  was  not  sure  of  that,  or  that  they  were  not 
devices  of  the  enemy,  to  procure  a  relaxation  of  his  military 
system.  There  were  other  assertions  made  which  were  no- 
toriously false  and  pernicious.  As  the  editor  refused  to 
retract,  he  was  arrested.  Judge  Hall,  wishing  to  vidicate 
the  supremacy  of  the  civil  authority,  issued  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus — General  Jackson,  instead  of  surrendering  the  edi- 
tor, arrested  the  judge  also,  and  sent  him  into  the  interior, 
with  these  instructions :  "I  have  thought  proper  to  send 
you  beyond  the  limits  of  my  encampment,  to  prevent  a  re- 
petition of  the  improper  conduct  with  which  you  have  been 
charged.  You  will  remain  without  the  line  of  my  sentinels, 
until  the  ratification  of  peace  is  regularly  announced,  or 
until  the  British  have  left  the  southern  coast."  The  justi- 
fication of  this  extraordinary  proceeding  is  to  be  found  in 
the  circumstances  of  General  Jackson's  position.  Surrounded 
as  he  was  by  persons  of  doubtful  fidelity  to  the  country,  and 
uncertain  in  regard  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  it  waa 
necessary  that  the  stringency  of  the  martial  law  he  had 
proclaimed  should  be  maintained.  The  legislature  and 
many  officials  had  manifested  a  disposition  to  yield  the 


ANDREW  JACKSCJST.  249 

country  to  the  enemy,  without  a  struggle.  To  preserve 
Louisiana  for  the  United  States,  it  was  necessary  that  their 
authority  should  be  set  at  naught. 

On  the  13th  of  March,  1815,  the  news  of  peace  was  re- 
ceived from  the  general  government.  Judge  Hall  now  re- 
turned to  New  Orleans,  and  summoning  General  Jackson 
to  appear  before  him,  became  the  judge  in  his  own  cause, 
and,  refusing  to  hear  the  defence  offered  by  the  general, 
fined  him  a  thousand  dollars.  The  people  of  New  Orleans 
were  indignant,  and  made  up  the  fine  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion. But  General  Jackson  paid  it  himself  and  refused  to 
be  remunerated.  The  general  now  returned  to  Nashville, 
Tennessee.  His  rapid  and  brilliant  military  career  now 
came  to  a  stand,  though  he  held  command  of  the  southern 
division  of  the  army.  The  legislatures  of  many  of  the  states 
passed  resolutions  of  approbation  of  his  achievements,  and 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  besides  commendatory 
resolutions,  directed  a  gold  medal  to  be  presented  to  him, 
commemorative  of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans. 

The  Seminole  Indians  of  Florida,  showing  their  hostility, 
by  committing  hostilities  on  the  frontiers,  caused  the  general 
government  to  order  General  Gaines  to  protect  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  south-western  section  of  the  Union.  That 
officer  erected  three  forts,  and  strove  to  establish  peace  with 
the  Indians,  but  did  not  succeed.  Early  in  1818,  the  Se- 
minoles  fell  in  with  a  party  of  forty  men,  under  Lieutenant 
Scott,  at  the  mouth  of  Flint  river,  and  massacred  them  all 
but  six,  who  escaped  by  swimming.  c  . 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  outrage  reached  General  Jack- 
son, he  raised  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  and  marched 
for  the  Mickasucky  villages,  which  he  reached  on  the  1st  of 
April.  The  villages  were  deserted.  General  Jackson  burned 


250 


LIVES  OF  THE  PKESIDENTS. 


them,  and  then  hastened  to  St.  Marks,  a  Spanish  post,  on 
the  Apalachee  Bay,  in  Florida.  Two  persons,  who  wore 
traders  with  the  Indians,  namely,  Arhutlmot,  a  Scotchman, 
and  Ambrister,  a  British  lieutenant  of  marines,  were  made 
prisoners  near  St.  Marks,  by  General  Jackson,  and  confined. 
Both  were  accused  of  exciting  the  Indians  to  hostility,  and 
being  tried  and  found  guilty  by  a  court-martial  were  sen- 
tenced to  death.  One  was  shot  and  the  other  hung  by  order 
of  General  Jackson. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  General  Jackson  took  posses- 
sion of  Pensacola  and  Fort  Banancas,  notwithstanding  the 
remonstrance  of  the  governor,  and  captured  and  hung  two 
Indian  chiefs,  under  circumstances  which  he  deemed  justi- 
fiable. On  the  2d  of  June,  1818,  the  general  informed  the 
secretary  of  war,  that  the  Seminole  war  might  be  considered 
as  closed.  He  now  retired  to  Nashville,  and  shortly  after 
resigned  his  commission  in  the  army. 

In  January,  1819,  General  Jackson  visited  Washington, 
while  his  conduct  in  the  Seminole  war  was  under  discussion 
in  Congress.  His  course  was  approved  by  a  large  majority 
of  the  members,  and  by  the  President  and  a  majority  of  the 
cabinet,  though  the  Spanish  posts  in  Florida  were  restored. 
The  resolutions  of  censure  were  rejected.  The  general  now 
visited  various  cities  and  towns,  and  was  recei  red  with  many 
marks  of  respect  and  admiration. 

"  In  June,  1821,  the  President  appointed  him  governor  of 
Florida,  which  office  he  accepted,  and  in  August  hs  took  pos- 
session of  the  territory,  according  to  the  treaty  of  cession. 
The  Spanish  governor,  Callava,  having  refused  to  give  up 
certain  public  documents,  deemed  of  importance,  he  was  taken 
into  custody,  by  order  of  Governor  Jackson,  and  committed 
to  prison.  The  papers  being  fonnd,  under  a  search-warrant 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  251 

issued  by  Jackson,  Callava,  was  immediately  set  at  liberty. 
Jackson  remained  but  a  few  months  in  Florida ;  for,  disliking 
the  situation,  and  disapproving  of  the  extent  of  power  vested 
in  him  as  governor,  he  resigned  the  office  and  again  retired 
to  Tennessee.  President  Monroe  offered  him  the  appoint- 
ment of  minister  to  Mexico,  which  he  declined  in  1823. 

"  In  July,  1822,  General  Jackson  was  nominated  by  the 
legislature  of  Tennessee  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States.  This  nomination  was  repeated  by  assem- 
blages of  the  people  in  several  other  states.  In  the  autumn 
of  1823,  he  was  elected  by  the  legislature  a  senator  from 
Tennessee,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States  in  December,  1823.  He  voted  for  the  protective 
tariff  of  1824.  The  popularity  of  General  Jackson  with  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  was  shown  at  the  presidential 
election  of  1824,  when  he  received  a  greater  number  of  elec- 
toral votes  than  either  of  his  competitors,  namely,  ninety- 
nine.  But  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen  in  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives. After  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams  to  the  Presidency, 
the  opposition  to  his  administration  was  soon  concentrated 
upon  General  Jackson  as  a  candidate  to  succeed  him.  In 
October,  1825,  he  was  again  nominated  by  the  legislature  of 
Tennessee  for  President,  on  which  occasion  he  resigned  hia 
seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  During  the  canvass 
which  resulted  in  his  election  to  the  Presidency  in  1828,  by 
a  majority  of  more  than  two  to  one,  of  the  electoral  votes, 
over  Mr.  Adams,  he  remained  in  private  life."*. 

Before  departing  for  Washington,  in  1829,  to  take  the 
reins  of  government,  the  general  was  severely  afflicted  by  tho 
death  of  his  wife,  a  lady  of  rare  accomplishments.  His  in- 
auguration took  place  on  the  4th  of  March,  1829.  Wash- 
*  Statesman's  Manual. 


252  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ington  was  thronged  with  the  general's  triumphant  and  i  nthu« 
siastic  friends.  The  address  was  considered  equal  in  point 
of  style  to  those  of  several  of  his  illustrious  predecessors, 
while  it  was  distinguished  for  its  profession  of  republican 
principles.  John  C.  Calhoun  had  been  re  elected  Vice 
President. 

The  members  of  Mr.  Adams's  cabinet  having  resigned, 
President  Jackson  nominated  the  following  gentlemen  for 
heads  of  the  respective  departments,  who  were  promptly 
confirmed  by  the  senate  :  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York, 
Secretary  of  State ;  Samuel  D.  Ingham,  of  Pennsylvania, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  John  H.  Eaton,  of  Tennessee, 
Secretary  of  War  ;  John  Branch,  of  North  Carolina,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  ;  John  McPherson  Berrien,  df  Georgia,  At- 
torney-General. It  being  determined  to  introduced  the  Post- 
master-General into  the  cabinet,  the  incumbent  of  that  office, 
John  McLean,  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  William  T.  Barry,  of  Kentucky,  received  the 
appointment  of  Postmaster-General. 

The  great  features  of  President  Jackson's  administra- 
tion— were  the  great  number  of  removals  from  office,  under 
the  avowed  doctrine  that  the  President  should  reward  his 
friends  and  punish  his  enemies ;  the  veto  of  the  charter  of 
the  national  bank,  and  the  removal  of  the  deposites — the 
firm  opposition  to  the  schemes  of  the  nullifiers,  under  the 
lead  of  John  C.  CaYnoun  and  Robert  Y.  Hayne — and  the 
bold,  decided  tone  held  in  the  difficulties  with  France.  Those 
are  still  matters  for  discussion,  and  a  cool,  impartial  inves- 
tigation of  their  justice  and  expediency  has  yet  to  be  made. 
We  conceive  that  such  an  investigation  would  occupy  too 
much  space  for  our  volume,  and,  perhaps,  be  foreign  to  our 
purpose. 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  253 

At  a  very  early  period  of  the  administration,  a  coolnesa 
between  the  Vice  President,  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  manifested.  This  grew  out 
of  their  rival  pretentions  to  the  succession  to  the  Presidency. 
Finally,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  completely  estranged  from  the 
administration,  and  his  influence  went  to  strengthen  the 
opposition.  Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  fortunes  were  thereby 
much  advanced,  and  when  President  Jackson  was  persuaded 
so  accept  a  nomination  for  another  term  of  office,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  nominated  by  the  same  party  for  the  Vice  Presi- 
dency. Late  in  the  summer  of  1831,  the  cabinet  of  Presi- 
dent Jackson  was  completely  re-organized,  as  follows :  Ed- 
ward Livingston,  of  Louisiana,  Secretary  of  State ;  Louis 
M'Lane,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Lewis  Cass,  of  Ohio, 
Secretary  of  War;  Levi  Wdodbury,  of  New  Hampshire, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Roger  B.  Taney,  of  Maryland, 
Attorney-General.  This  cabinet  was  not  only  superior  to 
that  which  preceded  it,  in  point  of  administrative  talents, 
but  might  fairly  compare  with  most  of  those  of  previous  ad- 
ministrations. Foreign  and  domestic  affairs  were  managed 
by  it  with  consummate  ability. 

In  the  fall  of  1832,  parties  girded  up  their  loins .  and 
lifted  their  banners  for  another  presidential  contest.  The 
anti-masonic  convention,  which  met  in  September,  nomi- 
nated William  Wirt,  of  Maryland,  for  President,  and  Amoa 
Ellmaker,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  Vice  President.  The  great 
majority  of  the  opposition  supported  Henry  Clay,  of  Ken- 
tucky, for  President,  and  John  Sergeant,  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  placed  on  the  same  ticket,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice 
Presidency.  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  South  Carolina  friends 
supported  John  Floyd  and  Henry  Lee.  In  the  electoral 
college,  the  votes  for  President  stood  as  follows:  Andrew 


254  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Jackson,  two  hundred  and  nineteen ;  Henry  Clay,  fort^ 
uiiie  ;  John  Floyd,  eleven ;  William  Wirt,  seven.  For  Vk 
President — Martin  Van  Buren,  one  hundred  and  eight; 
nine  ;  John  Sergeant,  forty-nine ;  William  Wilkins,  thirty 
Henry  Lee,  eleven  ;  Amos  Ellmaker,  seven. 

It  was  anticipated  that  the  second  term  of  President  JacI 
son  would  pass  away  peaceably.  But  the  removal  of  the  d( 
posites,  and  the  determined  hostility  evinced  by  the  admir 
istration,  caused  the  bank  directors  to  adopt  measures  of  n 
trenchment,  which  gave  rise  to  much  commercial  distress 
and  ultimately  strengthened  the  opposition  in  Congress.  I 
June,  1834,  Mr.  M'Lane,  who  had  succeeded  Mr.  Livingstor 
having  resigned,  John  Forsyth,  of  Georgia,  was  appointe 
Secretary  of  State  ;  Mahlon  Dickerson,  of  New  Jersey,  Se( 
retary  of  the  Navy,  in  place  of  Levi  Woodbury,  appointe 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Mr.  Taney  had  been  nominate 
to  the  post  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  effect  the  remova 
of  the  deposits.  The  senate,  however,  refused  to  confirr 
the  nomination.  The  election  in  the  fall  of  1836,  resulte 
in  the  election  of  Martin  \^an  Buren  to  the  Presidency  am 
Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  to  the  Vice  Presidency,  the  latte 
being  chosen  by  the  senate.  These  gentlemen  were  warr 
supporters  of  the  administration  of  General  Jackson. 

General  Jackson  now  issued  a  farewell  address  to  hi 
countrymen,  embodying  his  political  principles,  and  afte 
witnessing  the  inauguration  of  his  successor,  retired  to  tb 
Hermitage,  in  Tennessee,  his  favorite  residence,  where  h< 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  presbyterian  church,  and  religious  faith  appears  to  hav< 
cheered  the  latter  period  of  his  life.  He  retained  his  men 
tal  faculties  unimpaired,  up  to  the  hour  of  his  decease,  whicl 
occurred  on  the  8th  of  June,  1845.  His  countryinei 


ANDREW  JACKSON.  255 

throughout  the  United  States,  joined  in  tokens  of  respect  to 
his  memory.  He  left  no  relatives,  and  his  estate  was  be- 
queathed to  members  of  the  Donnelson  family,  the  relations 
of  Mrs.  Jackson.* 

"  Jackson's  face  and  figure  were  so  remarkable  that  no- 
thing could  be  an  easier  task  to  an  artist  than  to  get  a  like- 
ness of  him.  His  face  confirmed  every  dictum  of  the  physi- 
ognomist. It  was  long  and  narrow,  and  prominent  below. 
A  mouth  and  chin  more  expressive  of  stern  decision  can 
scarce  be  imagined ;  the  nose  high  and  long,  and  a  little 
drooping,  indicating  the  strength  of  character  (Bonaparte 
would  hardly  employ  a  man  in  any  important  trust  who  had 
not  a  large  nose,)  with  a  mixture  of  shrewdness.  This  quality 
was  also  strongly  marked  in  the  large  folds  of  skin  about  the 
eyes,  (often  called  crow's  feet ;}  his  cheeks  were  hollow,  the 
eye  itself  was  the  eye  of  an  eagle — cold,  grey,  piercing  in  the 
highest  degree,  and  when  contracted  by  rage,  darting  like 
fire ;  the  brow  was  fretful,  serious,  and  lowering.  His  figure 
was  tall  and  commanding,  but  thin  and  sinewy ;  his  hair 
of  iron  gray,  was  stiff  and  unyielding,  very  abundant,  and 
stood  erect  upon  his  head.  He  looked  well  when  standing, 
still  better  when  on  horseback,  and  his  appearance  was  much 
improved  by  a  splendid  uniform.  When  sitting,  he  usually 
crossed  one  knee  over  the  other.  His  hands  were  long  and 
bony ;  toward  the  close  of  life  he  had  a  little  stoop  in  the 
back,  when  seated,  "f 

The  chief  feature  in  General  Jackson's  character  was  the 
inflexibility  of  his  will.  When  he  resolved,  there  was  no 
possibility  of  swerving  or  bending  his  resolution.  His  pas- 
sions were  powerful — so  that  his  friendship  was  to  be  courted 
and  his  hatred  to  be  feared.  His  mind  was  naturally  strong 
*  Statesman's  Manual.  f  A.  J.  Stanabury. 


256  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  keen,  and  particularly  fitted  for  originating  and  govern 
ing  military  movements.  Military  men  of  reputation  have 
borne  testimony  to  the  talents  displayed  by  him  at  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  and  in  the  Creek  war,  and  his  services 
certainly  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  every  patriotic  citi- 
zen. In  regard  to  the  wisdom  of  his  statesmanship,  widely 
different  opinions  are  entertained.  Perhaps,  however,  it 
will  be  agreed,  that  though  he  was  occasionally  arbitrary, 
he,  in  general,  managed  the  foreign  and  domestic  relations 
of  the  country  with  honesty,  energy,  determination,  and 
a  considerable  share  of  judgment. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

THE  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  from  Washington 
to  Jackson,  were  the  children  of  the  revolution.  They  had 
heard  the  trump  of  liberty  and  witnessed  the  struggles  of 
the  infant  Hercules  for  freedom  and  independence.  So  linked 
with  glorious  memories,  they  could  not  but  be  patriotic,  and 
whether  they  acted  wisely  or  weakly,  the  people  never 
doubted  that  their  hearts  were  devoted  to  their  country,  and 
its  welfare.  But  now,  a  new  generation  was  to  attempt  to 
occupy  the  seat  of  the  mighty  men  of  the  past.  Younger 
hands  were  to  be  tried  at  the  helm  ;  and  grave  fears  and  ap- 
prehensions arose  that  they  would  be  unequal  to  the  task  of 
government.  Martin  Van  Buren  was  the  first  of  the  new 
school. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  were  among  the  early 
emigrants  from  Holland  to  New  York.  The  father  of  the 
President,  Abraham  Van  Buren,  was  a  resident  of  the  old 
town  of  Kinderhook,  Columbia  county,  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  a  farmer  of  moderate  circumstances,  and  an 
intelligent  and  upright  man.  He  married  a  Miss  Hoes,  a 
distant  relative,  distinguished  for  amiability,  intelligence  and 
exemplary  piety.  Martin  Van  Buren,  the  eldest  son  of  these 
parents,  was  born  at  Kinderhook,  December  5th,  1782. 

257 


258  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

After  acquiring  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education, 
Martin  became  a  student  in  a  Kinderhook  academy.  Here 
he  made  rapid  progress  in  English  literature  and  gained  some 
knowledge  of  Latin.  He  is  said  to  have  displayed  extraor- 
dinary quickness  of  observation  upon  character  and  events, 
and  to  have  possessed  a  strong  passion  for  composition  and  ex- 
tempore speaking.  In  1796,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  Martin 
commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  Francis  Sylvester, 
Esq.,  of  Kinderhook.  At  that  time,  young  men,  who  had 
not  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  collegiate  education,  were 
compelled  to  pass  seven  years  in  preparatory  studies,  before 
they  could  be  admitted  to  practise.  But  the  management 
of  cases  before  justices  of  the  peace  frequently  devolved  on 
the  students,  and  on  these  occasions,  Martin  Van  Buren 
displayed  extraordinary  penetration  and  readiness  of  speech. 
While  pursuing  his  legal  studies  he  was  very  attentive  to 
political  events  and  the  relative  positions  of  parties,  and  on 
all  occasions  evinced  an  attachment  for  the  republican  or 
Jefferson  party.  The  last  year  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  prepa 
ratory  study  was  passed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  office 
of  Mr.  William  P.  Van  Ness,  and  under  his  direction. 

Mr.  Van  Ness  was  a  distinguished  member  of  the  bar  and 
a  leader  of  the  democratic  party.  He  was  intimate  with 
Colonel  Burr,  and  introduced  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  notice 
of  that  able  politician.  The  younger  lawyer  thus  enjoyed 
overy  advantage  for  studying  law  and  politics,  and  he  was 
quick  and  skilful  in  availing  himself  of  his  opportunities.  In 
November,  1803,  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  admitted  as  an  attorney  at  law,  to  the  bar  of  the 
supreme  court  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  immediately  re- 
turned to  his  native  village  to  practise  his  profession,  in 
partnership,  with  his  half-brother,  the  Honorable  James  I- 


MARTIN  VAN  BURBN. 


259 


Van  Allen.  The  bar  of  Columbia  county,  at  that  time  em- 
braced some  of  the  finest  talent  of  any  in  New  York,  and  Mr. 
Van  Buren  had  to  contend  with  it,  on  his  upward  way.  Parties 
were  in  a  very  excited  state  at  that  period.  The  republicans 
were  struggling  hard  to  gain  the  ascendancy  throughout  the 
country.  Although  they  had  a  clear  majority  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  they  succumbed  to  the  federalists  in  many 
counties.  In  Columbia,  the  reins  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
wealthy  land-holders,  who  were  generally  federalists  and  op- 
posed to  the  extension  of  popular  rights.  Mr.  Van  Buren'a 
early  display  of  energy  and  ability  attracted  their  attention, 
and  no  ordinary  pains  were  taken  to  detach  him  from  the 
republicans.  His  partner  and  many  of  his  nearest  relation? 
and  friends  were  members  of  the  federal  party,  and  as  they 
considered  that  his  political  preferences  would  interfere  with 
his  prosperity,  they  strove  to  win  him  to  their  views.  But 
Mr.  Van  Buren  remained  firm  in  the  faith  which  his  father 
had  held  in  the  revolution,  and  which  he  had  on  the  onset 
espoused.  Thus  connected  with  the  democratic  party,  he 
naturally  became  the  vindicator  not  only  of  their  political 
faith,  but  of  their  legal  right?.  The  conflicts  in  which 
he  engaged,  rapidly  invigorated  and  enlarged  his  natural 
powers. 

In  1807,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  admitted  as  a  counsellor  in  the 
supreme  court,  where  he  was  brought  into  more  immediate 
collision  with  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  legal 
professions.  In  1808,  he  was  appointed  surrogate  of  Columbia 
county,  soon  after  which  he  removed  to  the  city  of  Hudson, 
where  he  resided  during  seven  years,  and  maintained  a  high 
rank  in  his  profession.  His  practice  became  extensive  and 
lucrative.  His  career  as  a  lawyer  occupies  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years,  and  was  closed  in  1828.  Throughout,  Mr.  Van 


260  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Buren  held  an  enviable  reputation,  for  skill,  learning,  and 
integrity.* 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  married  in  1806,  to  Miss  Hannah 
Hoes,  to  whom,  he  had,  at  an  early  age  evinced  an  ardent 
attachment.  This  amiable  lady  died  of  consumption,  in 
1818,  leaving  her  husband  four  sons.  Mr.  Van  Buren  has 
since  remained  a  widower.  So  much  for  the  private  and 
professional  life  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  began  his  career  as  a  politician  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  being  then  deputed  by  the  republi- 
cans of  his  native  town  to  attend  a  convention  of  delegates 
to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  legislature.  His  talents 
were  exercised  on  that  occasion  in  preparing  an  address  to 
the  electors  of  the  district  in  which  he  resided.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's administration  received  his  constant  support.  In  the 
state  elections,  Mr.  Van  Buren  sacrificed  personal  friend- 
ship to  give  his  earnest  and  unwavering  support  to  the 
regularly  nominated  candidates  of  his  party,  caring  nothing 
for  men,  but  every  thing  for  measures. 

In  1812,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was,  for  the  first  time,  a  candi- 
date for  an  elective  office,  having  been  nominated  a  senator 
from  the  counties  then  comprising  the  middle  district  of  the 
state.  Edward  L.  Livingston,  a  man  of  wealthy  connections, 
and  high  in  the  favor  of  the  federal  party,  was  his  opponent. 
The  struggle  was  close  and  violent.  Mr.  Van  Buren  ob- 
tained a  majority  of  about  two  hundred  votes,  in  an  aggre- 
gate of  twenty  thousand,  and  was  thus  at  the  age  of  thirty, 
placed  in  the  highest  branch  of  the  legislature.  From  the 
commencement  of  his  legislative  career,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
gave  to  all  the  war  measures  of  Mr.  Madison's  administra- 
tion a  strenuoas  and  efficient  support. 
*  Statesman's  Manual. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  261 

In  1815,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  appointed  attorney-general 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  also  a  regent  of  the  univer- 
sity. In  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  he  was  re-elected  to 
the  state  senate  for  the  term  of  four  years.  As  a  senator, 
he  advocated  with  zeal  and  ability  the  great  project  of  in- 
ternal improvements  contemplated  by  De  Witt  Clinton, 
During  the  war,  Governor  Tompkins  and  Mr.  Van  Buren 
were  considered  the  leaders  of  the  democratic  party  in  the 
state  of  New  York. 

In  1818,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  having  determined  to  oppose 
the  administration  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  commenced  the  or- 
ganization of  that  portion  of  the  democratic  party  who  were 
dissatisfied  with  Clinton's  election.  This  body  is  said  to 
have  swayed  the  destinies  of  New  York  for  about  twenty, 
five  years.  The  "Albany  Regency,"  of  which  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  regarded  as  the  head,  was  a  constant  butt  for 
vituperation  among  the  friends  of  Clinton.  The  difficulties 
in  the  democratic  party,  between  the  respective  friends  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Governor  Clinton,  soon  caused  an  open 
rupture,  the  great  body  of  the  democrats  siding  with  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  The  council  of  appointment,  being  devoted  to 
the  views  of  the  governor,  in  July,  1819,  removed  Mr.  Van 
Buren  from  the  office  of  attorney-general.  This  made  the 
opposition  more  violent.  However,  Clinton  was  re-elected 
governor,  in  spite  of  the  most  strenuous  efforts  of  his  oppo- 
nents. An  attempt  at  reconciliation  was  made — the  office 
of  attorney-general  being  again  offered  to  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
but  he  declined  it. 

In  February,  1821,  he  was  elected  by  the  legislature  of  NeTV 
York,  a  member  of  the  United  States  senate,  in  place  of 
Nathan  Sandford,  a  democrat,  whose  term  expired  in  March, 
1 821  In  August  of  the  same  year,  he  took  a  seat  in  the 


2f)2  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

convention  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  New 
York.  In  this  convention,  Mr.  Van  Buren  proposed  and 
advocated  such  amendments  as  he  thought  would  secure  just 
privileges  to  citizens  of  all  grades  and  colors,  while  they 
would  not  prevent  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  by  tho 
people.  Kis  course  was  satisfactory  to  men  of  all  parties, 
and  highly  honorable  to  his  talents  as  a  statesman. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  took  his  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States,  in  December,  1821,  and  soon  became  distinguished 
as  an  active  and  influential  legislator.  He  advocated  with 
zeal  and  force  of  reason,  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for 
debt  on  actions  in  the  United  States'  courts,  amendments 
to  the  judiciary  system,  a  bankrupt  law — to  include  corpo- 
rations as  well  as  persons,  and  the  investment  of  the  public 
lands  in  the  states  in  which  they  were  situated,  on  some  just 
and  equitable  terms.  When  Mr.  Crawford  became  a  can- 
didate for  the  succession  to  President  Monroe,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  labored  to  effect  his  election,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
He  opposed  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  lent  all 
his  influence  to  strengthen  the  party  which  sought  to  -aise 
General  Jackson  to  the  Presidency. 

In  February,  1827,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  re-elected  to  the 
United  States  senate,  by  the  legislature  of  his  native  state. 
But  circumstances  soon  caused  his  resignation.  Governor 
Clinton  died  in  February,  1828,  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the  gubernatorial  office.  Entering 
upon  his  duties  on  the  1st  of  January,  1828,  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren first  devoted  himself  to  financial  matters.  The  famous 
safety-fund  system,  combining  the  monied  interest  of  the 
state,  which  he  proposed  to  the  legislature,  was  adopted  ;  but 
the  experience  of  a  few  years  proved  that  it  could  not  equal 
public  expectation. 


MARTIN  VAN  BURBN.  263 

In  forming  his  first  cabinet,  President  Jackson  offered  th<i 
post  of  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  Van  Buren.  The  general 
said  he  made  the  offer  as  a  tribute  to  acknowledged  talents 
and  public  services,  and  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of 
the  republican  party  throughout  the  Union.  On  the  12th 
of  March,  1829,  Mr.  Van  Buren  resigned  the  office  of 
Governor  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  soon  afterwards 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  position  in  the  general 
government. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  management  of  foreign  relations  did 
not  give  general  satisfaction.  In  particular,  his  instructions 
to  Mr.  M'Lane,  minister  to  England,  concerning  the  open- 
ing of  the  West  Indian  ports  to  American  vessels,  were 
severely  censured.  Though  the  treaty  upon  this  subject 
was  ultimately  beneficial  to  the  United  States.  Yet  the 
principle  contended  for  by  Great  Britain  prevailed,  and  it 
was  contended  that  the  honor  of  the  country  had  been  sac- 
rificed. On  the  7th  of  April,  1831,  Mr.  Van  Buren  re- 
signed the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  assigning  as  a  reason, 
tha.t  circumstances  beyond  his  control  had  presented  him 
before  the  public  as  a  candidate  for  the  succession  to  the 
Presidency,  and  that  the  injurious  effects  necessarily  result- 
ing from  a  cabinet  minister's  holding  that  relation  to  the 
country,  had  left  him  only  the  alternative  of  retiring  from 
the  administration,  or  of  submitting  to  a  self-disfranchise 
ment,  hardly  reconcileable  with  propriety  and  self-respect. 
Soon  after,  General  Jackson's  cabinet  was  entirely  changed 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  now  appointed  by  the  President, 
minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James.  On  his  arrival  in  Lon- 
don, in  September,  1831,  he  was  received  with  distinguished 
favor.  But  his  diplomatic  career  was  destined  to  be  very 
short.  Soon  after  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in  December 


264  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  President  submitted  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Bureii 
to  the  senate.  He  was  rejected  by  that  body,  it  was  said, 
in  consequence  of  their  disapproval  of  the  instructions  he 
had,  while  Secretary  of  State,  given  to  Mr.  M'Lano,  in  refe- 
rence to  the  West  India  trade.  The  democratic  party  con- 
demned this  rejection  as  an  act  of  political  persecution. 
The  President  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  of  the  in- 
structions condemned  by  the  senate,  declared  they  were  "the 
result  of  his  own  deliberate  investigation  and  reflection,  and 
still  appeared  to  him  to  be  entirely  proper  and  consonant 
to  his  public  duty." 

On  the  22d  of  May,  1832,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  nomi- 
nated as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice  Presidency,  upon  the 
same  ticket  with  General  Jackson.  The  result  was  a  tri- 
umphant election  of  both  to  the  respective  offices  to  which 
they  were  nominated.  Mr.  Van  Buren  received  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  electoral  votes,  to  ninety-seven  for  all 
other  candidates  for  the  Vice  Presidency.  He  returned 
from  England  to  enjoy  his  triumph  over  his  political  oppo- 
nents. On  the  4th  of  March,  1833,  he  was  inaugurated 
Vice  President.  He  presided  over  the  senate  for  four  years, 
giving  general  satisfaction.* 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1835,  the  democratic  convention 
met  at  Baltimore,  to  nominate  candidates  for  the  two  highest 
offices  in  the  gifts  of  the  people.  The  result  had  been  anti- 
cipated. Mr.  Van  Buren  was  unanimously  nominated  as 
the  candidate  of  the  party  for  President,  and  Colonel  Richard 
M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  received  the  nomination  for  Vice 
President.  The  result  of  the  vote  by  the  electoral  college 
was  one  hundred  and  seventy  for  Mr.  Van  Buren,  including 
Michigan,  (3)  informal,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 

*  Statesman's  Manual. 


MARTIN  VAJS  BUREN.  265 

for  all  other  candidates.  Colonel  Johnson  did  not  receive 
a  majority  of  the  electoral  vote.  But  he  was  elected  by 
the  senate,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  was  inaugurated  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  4th  of  March  1837.  From  the  assurance  of 
the  inaugural  address,  the  people  expected  that  the  policy 
of  the  government  would  remain  unchanged 

The  new  President  selected  for  his  cabinet,  John  Forsyth, 
of  Georgia,  for  Secretary  of  State ;  Levi  Woodbury,  of  New 
Hampshire,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  of 
South  Carolina.  Secretary  of  War ;  Mahlon  Dickerson  of 
New  Jersey,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Amos  Kendall,  of  Ken- 
tucky, Postmaster-General;  and  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  of  New 
York,  Attorney-General.  All  of  these  gentlemen,  except 
Mr.  Poinsett,  had  been  appointed  by  General  Jackson  to  the 
respective  offices  named,  and  they  were  continued  by  Mr. 
Van  Buren. 

The  new  administration  commenced  its  career  in  cloudy 
times.  Early  in  May,  the  commercial  pressure  was  made 
palpable,  by  all  the  banks  in  New  York  suspending  specie 
payments.  The  banks  of  Boston,  Providence,  Hartford, 
Albany,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  and  in  many  other 
towns  followed  the  same  course.  On  the  16th  of  May,  the 
legislature  of  New  York  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  sus- 
pension of  specie  payments  by  the  banks  of  that  state  for 
jne  year.  During  the  preceding  two  months,  unparalleled 
embarrassments  were  experienced  among  the  mercantile 
classes,  and  in  the  large  cities  business  was  at  a  stand.  Pe- 
titions poured  in,  to  the  President,  praying  him  to  rescind  the 
specie  circular  issued  by  General  Jackson  in  1836,  which  re- 
quired all  payments  for  the  public  lands  to  be  made  in  gold 
and  silver,  to  defer  commencing  suits  on  unpaid  bonds,  and 


266 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


to  call  an  extra  session  of  Congress.  The  President  for  some 
time,  declined  to  act  on  the  petitions ;  but  the  exigency  in 
which  the  financial  affairs  of  the  government  were  placed, 
finally  induced  him  to  convene  Congress  upon  the  first  Monday 
in  September. 

The  extra  session  lasted  forty-three  days.  The  democrats 
were  in  a  majority  in  both  houses ;  but  a  small  portion  of 
the  party  did  not  coincide  with  the  President  in  his  views 
of  financial  affairs,  and  the  representatives  of  this  portion, 
voting  with  the  whigs,  defeated  the  independent  treasury 
scheme,  the  favorite  financial  measure  of  the  administration. 
This  measure  was  proposed  at  the  extra  session,  and  then 
again  at  the  first  regular  session,  and  each  time  rejected. 

In  June,  1838,  Mahlon  Dickerson  resigned  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  James  K.  Paulding,  of  New 
York,  was  appointed  in  his  place.  It  was  now  evident  that 
che  popularity  of  the  administration  was  on  the  decline.  At 
the  state  election  the  opposition  gained  several  triumphs.  New 
York  fell  into  their  hands.  The  great  body  of  the  business 
community  was  arrayed  against  the  government.  In  the 
meantime,  the  Seminole  War,  in  Florida,  which  had  con- 
tinued during  General  Jackson's  administration  was  drawing 
considerable  sums  from  the  treasury  and  causing  the  death 
of  many  valuable  lives. 

To  add  to  the  sources  of  discontent,  a  difficulty  occurred 
with  Great  Britain  concerning  the  north-eastern  boundary  of 
the  United  States,  which  threatened  war.  In  the  summer  of 
1839,  President  Van  Buren  visited  the  state  of  New  York 
for  the  first  time  since  his  election.*  He  was  received  with 
every  mark  of  respect,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  various  places 
through  which  he  passed  upon  his  route. 

*  Statesman's  Manual. 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  267 

The  opposition  was  unquestionably  in  a  majority  in  the 
country.  It  assumed  the  name  of  the  whig  party,  and  held 
a  national  convention  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
4th  of  December,  1839,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  can- 
didates for  the  Presidency  and  Vice  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  was  the  favorite  of  a 
plurality  of  the  delegates  to  the  convention,  but  General  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  was  finally  adopted  as  the 
stronger  candidate.  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  was  unanimously 
nominated  for  the  Vice  Presidency.  These  candidates  re- 
ceived the  support  of  the  entire  opposition.  The  democratic 
convention  met  on  the  5th  of  May,  1840,  and  unanimously 
nominated  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  re-election.  No  candidate 
for  the  Vice  Presidency  was  put  forward ;  it  was  resolved 
to  leave  each  state  to  make  its  own  nomination.  Richard 
M.  Johnson  was  understood  to  be  the  favorite.  The  result 
of  the  election  was  the  success  of  the  whig  candidates,  Har 
rison  and  Tyler,  by  a  large  majority.  The  electoral  votes 
stood  as  follows  : — Harrison,  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  ; 
Van  Buren,  sixty ;  for  Vice  President,  Tyler,  two  hundred 
and  thirty-four  ;  R.  M.  Johnson,  forty-eight,  L.  W.  Tazewell, 
eleven  ;  and  James  K.  Polk,  one. 

Some  changes  had  taken  place  in  President  Van  Buren 's 
cabinet,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned.  In  1838, 
Benjamin  F.  Butler  resigned,  as  Attorney-General,  and 
Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  was  appointed  to  fill  his  place. 
In  1839,  Mr.  Grundy  resigned,  and  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  of 
Pennsylvania,  received  the  appointment  to  the  office.  Amos 
Kendall  having  resigned  the  office  of  Postmaster-General, 
John  M.  Niles,  of  Connecticut,  was  appointed  in  his  place 
on  the  25th  of  May,  1840. 

Of  the  character  of  Mr.  VaD  Buren 's  administration  it  is 


268 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


difficult  at  this  period  to  make  an  impartial  judgment.  His 
friends  contend  that  he  completed  the  great  work  commenced 
by  General  Jackson,  namely,  the  separation  of  bank  and 
'state,  and  thereby  benefited  the  real  interests  of  the  country. 
His  opponents  maintain  that  his  policy  was  destructive  to 
the  business  of  the  nation. 

After  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  Mr.  Van  Buren  retired  tc 
KinderhooV,  where  his  fine  estate  of  "Lindenwald"  was 
situated.  There  he  resided,  surrounded  by  an  admiring 
circle  of  friends,  and  conscious  of  possessing  the  confidence 
of  a  large  political  party.  At  the  democratic  convention 
of  1844,  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  nominate  Mr.  Van 
Buren  for  another  presidential  term.  But  the  rules  of  the 
convention  required  that  the  candidate  should  receive  the 
vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  delegates ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
in  consequence  of  his  being  adverse  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  which  was  then  agitated,  could  not  obtain  such  a 
vote.  James  K.  Polk  of  Tennessee,  received  the  nomination 
for  President.  Mr.  Van  Buren  gave  him  a  cordial  support, 
and  his  triumph  may  be  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the 
ex-President,  in  New  York. 

In  1848,  Mr.  Van  Buren  received  the  nomination  for  the 
Presidency,  from  the  "free  soil  democrats,"  through  a  con- 
vention held  at  Buffalo,  New  York.  General  Cass  was  the 
regular  candidate  of  the  democratic  party,  but  his  nomina- 
tion was  said  to  have  been  unfairly  made,  and,  besides,  a 
large  number  of  democrats  in  the  north  were  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  slavery,  and  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade  in  the  district  of  Columbia,  in  which  views,  the  body 
of  the  party  would  not  acquiesce.  Mr.  Van  Buren  coincided 
with  the  "  free  soil  democrats,"  and  therefore  accepted  their 
nomination.  This  party  did  not  succeed  in  procuring  the  * 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  269 


electoral  vote  of  any  state,  but  it  mustered  over  three 
dred  thousand  votes  at  the  polls.  General  Taylor  was  the 
choice  of  the  people.  During  the  canvass,  John  Van  Buren, 
the  active  and  eloquent  son  of  the  ex-President,  advocated 
from  the  rostrum,  the  claims  of  the  Buffalo  nominees. 
After  that  period  the  ex-President  resided  at  Lindenwald, 
enjoying  the  conversation  of  his  friends,  and  surrounded 
by  all  the  comforts  which  wealth  could  purchase  and  a 
cheerful  disposition  delight  in,  until  his  death  in  July,  1862. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  of  about  the 
middle  size  ;  his  form  was  erect,  rather  inclined  to  cor- 
pulence, and  said  to  be  very  hardy.  His  hair  and  eyes 
were  light,  his  features  lively  and  expressive  ;  his  eyes 
were  quick,  and  indicated  penetration  and  readiness  of 
apprehension  ;  his  forehead  was  broad  and  high,  indicat- 
ing intellectual  power.  His  friend  and  biographer,  Pro- 
fessor Holland,  thus  speaks  of  his  private  character. 

"  The  private  character  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  above  all 
censure  or  suspicion.  In  the  relations  of  father  and  son, 
of  husband,  brother,  and  friend,  he  has  always  displayed 
those  excellencies  of  character  and  feeling  which  adorn 
human  nature.  Extending  our  view  to  the  larger  circle  of 
his  personal  friends,  rarely  has  any  man  won  a  stronger 
hold  upon  the  confidence  and  affection  of  those  with  whom 
he  has  been  connected.  The  purity  of  his  motives,  his  in- 
tegrity of  his  character,  and  the  steadiness  of  his  attach- 
ments, have  always  attained  for  him  the  warm  affection  of 
many,  even  among  the  ranks  of  his  political  opponents. 

"  The  ease  and  frankness  of  his  manners,  the  felicitous 
powers  of  conversation,  and  the  general  amiableness  of  his 
feeling,  render  him  the  ornament  of  the  social  circle.  Uniting 
in  his  character,  firmness  and  forbearance  ;  habitual  self- 


270  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

respect  and  a  delicate  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others , 
neither  the  perplexities  of  legal  practice,  nor  the  cares  of 
public  life,  nor  the  annoyances  of  party  strife,  have  ever 
beon  able  to  disturb  the  serenity  of  his  temper,  or  to  derange 
for  a  moment  the  equanimity  of  his  deportment.  He  has 
with  equal  propriety  mingled  in  the  free  intercourse  cf 
private  life,  and  sustained  the  dignity  of  official  station." 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  the  ninth  President  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  at  Berkeley,  Charles  City  county, 
Virginia.  February  9,  1773.  His  ancestors  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia, about  1640,  and  the  family  name  was  always  among 
the  most  prominent  in  her  history.  His  father,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  was  a  conspicuous  patriot  of  the  revolution.  When 
a  very  young  man,  he  honorably  represented  his  native  dis- 
trict in  the  house  of  burgesses  for  many  years,  and  on  the 
14th  of  November,  1764,  was  one  of  those  of  its  distinguished 
members  chosen  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  king,  a  me- 
morial to  the  lords,  and  a  remonstrance  to  the  house  of 
commons,  in  opposition  to  the  stamp  act.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate from  Virginia  to  the  first  Continental  Congress,  which 
assembled  at  Philadelphia,  September  1st,  1774,  when  he 
had  the  gratification  of  seeing  his  brother-in-law,  Peyton 
Randolph,  placed  in  the  presidential  chair.  At  the  Congress 
of  the  following  year,  1775,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Randolph, 
it  was  the  wish  of  nearly  all  the  southern  members  that  Mr. 
Harrison  should  succeed  him  in  the  Presidency ;  but  the 
patriotic  John  Hancock,  of  Massachusetts,  had  likewise  been 
nominated.  Mr.  Harrison,  to  avoid  any  sectional  jealousy 
or  unkindness  of  feeling  between  the  northern  and  southern 
delegates  at  so  momentous  a  crisis,  with  a  noble  self-denia' 

271 


272  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  generosity,  relinquished  his* own  claims,  and  insisted  on 
the  election  of  Mr.  Hancock,  who  accordingly  had  the  honor 
of  being  unanimously  chosen  to  that  high  office.  Mr.  Har- 
rison still,  however,  continued  one  of  the  most  active  and 
influential  members  of  the  Continental  Congress.  On  the 
10th  of  June,  1776,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the 
whole  house,  he  introduced  the  resolution  which  declared 
the  independence  of  the  colonies ;  and  on  the  ever  memo- 
rable 4th  of  July,  1776,  he  reported  the  more  formal  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  to  which  celebrated  document  his 
signature  is  attached.  The  legislature  of  Virginia  returned 
Mr.  Harrison  four  times  as  a  delegate  to  Congress.  On  the 
expiration  of  his  last  term  of  congressional  service,  he  was 
immediately  elected  to  the  house  of  burgesses  from  his  own 
county,  and  was  at  once  chosen  speaker  of  that  body — an 
office  he  held  uninterruptedly  until  the  year  1782,  when  he 
was  elected  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  became  one  of  the 
most  popular  officers  that  ever  filled  the  executive  chair. 
This  eminent  patriot  died  in  the  year  1791. 

William  Henry  Harrison  was  left  under  the  guardianship 
of  Robert  Morris,  the  distinguished  financier.  He  entered 
Hampden  Sidney  College,  and  having  graduated,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine.  But  he  was  destined 
for  another  profession — the  service  of  his  country  in  the 
field.  Before  he  had  completed  his  medical  studies,  the 
barbarities  of  the  Indians  upon  the  western  frontier  so  ex- 
cited his  feelings  that  he  resolved  to  give  up  his  profession 
and  join  the  army.  Mr.  Morris,  his  guardian,  strove  to 
dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  but  his  resolution  was  not 
to  be  shaken,  and  on  communicating  with  General  Washing- 
ton, that  great  man  cordially  approved  of  his  determination.* 
*  Statesman's  Manual. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  273 

Receiving  from  President  Washington,  the  commission 
of  ensign  in  a  regiment  of  artillery,  Harrison,  then  nineteen 
years  of  age,  joined  his  corps  at  Fort  Washington,  on  the 
Ohio,  in  1791.  He  soon  found  an  opportunity  to  distin- 
guish himself.  A  reinforcement  being  ordered  by  General 
St.  Glair,  to  proceed  to  Fort  Hamilton,  Harrison  was  ap- 
pointed to  command  the  escort.  This  duty  was  arduous, 
as  the  country  swarmed  with  foes,  yet  it  was  performed  with 
such  skill  and  vigilance,  as  to  gain  for  the  young  ensign 
the  approbation  of  his  general.  In  1792,  Harrison  was 
promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  and  in  the  following  year  he 
joined  the  new  army  under  General  Wayne,  which  was 
destined  to  close  the  Indian  war. 

When,  in  October,  1793,  General  Wayne  marched  for- 
ward to  the  Miami,  he  sent  a  detachment  to  take  possession 
of  the  ground  on  which  General  St.  Clair  had  suffered  a 
defeat.  Harrison  volunteered  for  the  service,  and  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  commander.  The  troops  took  possession  of 
the  fatal  field,  collected  the  bones  of  those  who  had  fallen 
two  years  before,  and  interred  them  with  military  honors, 
and  erected  Fort  Recovery. 

Lieutenant  Harrison  bore  an  important  part  in  the  famous 
battle  of  the  "  Fallen  Timbers,"  in  which  the  Indians  were 
completely  defeated,  by  the  skill  of  Wayroe  and  the  valor  of 
his  troops.  The  general,  in  his  official  account  of  the  battle, 
complimented  young  Harrison,  as  his  "faithful  and  gallant 
aid-de-camp,  in  having  rendered  him  the  most  essential  service 
in  communicating  his  orders  in  every  direction,  and  for  his 
conduct  and  bravery  in  exciting  the  troops  to  press  for  vic- 
tory." Not  long  after  this  campaign,  Harrison  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington. He  was  then  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  yet  great 


274  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

confidence  was- reposed  in  his  skill  and  energy.  While  in 
command  at  Fort  Washington,  Captain  Harrison  married  the 
daughter  of  John  Cleaves  Symmes,  the  founder  of  the  Miami 
settlements. 

In  April,  1798,  when  Winthrop  Sargent,  Secretary  of  the 
north-western  territory,  was  appointed  governor  of  the  south- 
western country,  Harrison  received  the  appointment  to  fill 
the  vacated  post.  In  the  next  year  a  territorial  government 
was  organized,  and  it  devolved  on  the  legislature  to  elect  a 
ielegate  to  Congress.  The  candidates  were  Messrs.  Harrison 
ind  St.  Clair.  Harrison  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 

The  legislature,  by  joint  resolution,  prescribed  the  form 
of  a  certificate  of  his  election ;  having  received  that  certificate, 
he  resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  territory — proceeded 
forthwith  to  Philadelphia,  and  took  his  seat ;  Congress  being 
then  in  session.  Though  he  represented  the  territory  but 
one  year,  he  obtained  some  important  advantages  for  his  con- 
stituents. He  introduced  a  resolution  to  subdivide  the  sur- 
veys of  the  public  lands,  and  to  offer  them  for  sale  in  small 
tracts — he  succeeded  in  getting  that  measure  through  both 
houses,  in  opposition  to  the  interest  of  speculators  who  were, 
and  who  wished  to  be,  the  retailers  of  the  land  to  the  poorer 
classes  of  the  community.  His  proposition  became  a  law, 
and  was  hailed  as  the  most  beneficent  act  that  Congress  had 
over  done  for  the  territory.  It  put  it  in  the  power  of  every 
industrious  man,  however  poor,  to  become  a  free  holder,  and 
lay  a  foundation  for  the  future  support,  and  comfort  of  his 
family.  At  the  same  session,  he  obtained  a  liberal  extension 
of  time  for  the  pre-emptioners  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Miami  purchase,  which  enabled  them  to  secure  their  farms, 
aud  eventually  to  become  independent,  and  even  wealthy.* 
*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West 


WILLIAM  HENRI    HARRISON.  275 

In  1800,  a  government  was  organized  for  Indiana  territory, 
and  Harrison  was  appointed  its  governor,  his  commission 
being  dated  1801.  In  this  important  office,  he  soon  displayed 
a  talent  and  activity,  which  resulted  in  great  benefits  to  his 
country. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  1802,  Governor  Harrison,  at 
Vincennes,  entered  into  an  agreement  with  various  chiefs  of 
the  Pottawatamie,  Eel  river,  Piankeshaw,Wea,  Kaskaskiaand 
Kickapoo  tribes,  by  which  were  settled  the  bounds  of  a  tract 
of  land  near  that  place,  said  to  have  been  given  by  the  In- 
dians to  its  founder ;  and  certain  chiefs  were  named  who 
were  to  conclude  the  matter  at  Fort  Wayne.  This  was  the 
first  step  taken  by  Harrison  in  those  negotiations  which  con- 
tinued through  so  many  years,  and  added  so  much  to  the 
dominions  of  the  confederation.  He  found  the  natives 
jealous  and  out  of  temper,  owing  partly  to  American  injustice, 
but  also  in  a  great  degree,  it  was  thought,  to  the  acts  of  the 
British  traders  and  agents. 

The  governor  exerted  himself  to  check  a  system  of  specu- 
lation in  land,  which  had  been  going  on  for  some  time,  and 
which  caused  disaster  and  difficulty  to  many  individuals, 
who  were  duped  by  misrepresentation.  On  the  18th  of  Au- 
gust, 1804,  Governor  Harrison  purchased  from  the  Dela 
wares,  their  claims  to  a  large  tract  between  the  Wabash  and 
the  Ohio ;  from  the  Piankeshaws,  their  claims  to  the  same, 
and  also  to  the  lands  granted  to  the  Kaskaskias  in  1803 : 
from  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  their  title  to  most  of  the  immense 
district  between  the  Mississippi,  Illinois,  Fox  river,  empty- 
ing into  the  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin  rivers  ;  comprehending, 
it  is  said,  more  than  fifty-one  millions  of  acres.  These  im 
portar.t  treaties  were  not  negotiated  without  much  difficulty, 
caused,  it  is  said,  by  the  machinations  of  the  great  Sha 


276  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tvanee  chief,  Tecumthe,  or  the  Crouching  Panther,  and  his 
brother,  called  the  Prophet. 

"  Upon  the  21st  of  August,  Governor  Harrison  at  Vin 
cennes,  received  from  the  Miamies  a  region  containing  two 
million  acres  within  what  is  now  Indiana ;  and  upon  the  30th 
of  December,  at  the  same  place  purchased  of  the  Pianke- 
shaws  a  tract  eighty  or  ninety  miles  wide,  extending  from 
the  Wabash  west  to  the  cession  by  the  Kaskaskias,  in  1803. 
At  this  time,  although  some  murders  by  the  red  men  had 
taken  place  in  the  far  west,  the  body  of  natives  seemed  bent 
on  peace.  But  mischief  was  gathering.  Tecumthe,  his  brother 
the  Prophet,  and  other  leading  men,  had  formed  at  Grenville 
the  germ  of  that  union  of  tribes  by  which  the  whites  were 
to  be  restrained  in  their  invasions.  We  are  by  no  means 
satisfied  that  the  great  Indian  of  latter  days  used  any  con- 
cealment, or  meditated  any  treachery  toward  the  United 
States,  for  many  years  after  this  time.  The  efforts  of  him- 
self and  his  brother  were  directed  to  two  points :  first,  the 
reformation  of  the  savages,  whose  habits  unfitted  them  for 
continuous  and  heroic  effort ;  and  second,  such  a  union  as 
would  make  the  purchase  of  land  by  the  United  States  im- 
possible, and  give  to  the  aborigines  a  strength  that  might  be 
dreaded.  Both  these  objects  were  avowed,  and  both  were 
pursued  with  wonderful  energy,  perseverance  and  success ; 
in  the  whole  country  bordering  upon  the  lakes,  the  power  of 
the  Prophet  was  felt,  and  the  work  of  reformation  went  on 
rapidly."* 

Still  the  movements  of  the  Indian  brothers  led  Harrison 
to  suspect  their  designs  and  to  prepare  for  an  emergency 
On  the  5th  of  July,  1809,  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
as  follows: 

*  Perkin's  Annal*  of  the  Wert. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  277 

"  The  Shawanese  Prophet  and  about  forty  followers  ar- 
rived here  about  a  week  ago.  He  denies  most  strenuously 
any  participation  in  the  late  combinations  to  attack  our  set- 
tlement, which  he  says  was  entirely  confined  to  the  tribes 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers ;  and  he  claims  the 
merit  of  having  prevailed  upon  them  to  relinquish  their 
intentions. 

"  I  must  confess  that  my  suspicions  of  his  guilt  have  been 
rather  strengthened  than  diminished  at  every  interview  I 
have  had  with  him  since  his  arrival.  He  acknowledges  that 
he  received  an  invitation  to  war  against  us,  from  the  British, 
last  fall,  and  that  he  was  apprised  of  the  intentions  of  the 
Sacs,  Foxes,  &c.  early  in  the  spring,  and  warmly  solicited 
to  join  in  the  league.  But  he  could  give  no  satisfactory 
explanation  of  his  neglecting  to  communicate  to  me  circum- 
stances so  extremely  interesting  to  us,  and  tqwards  which. 
I  had,  a  few  months  before,  directed  his  attention,  and  re- 
ceived a  solemn  assurance  of  his  cheerful  compliance  with 
the  injunctions  I  had  impressed  upon  him. 

"  The  result  of  all  my  inquiries  on  the  subject,  is,  that 
the  late  combination  was  produced  by  British  intrigue  and 
influence,  in  anticipation  of  war  between  them  and  the  United 
States.  It  was,  however,  premature  and  ill  judged,  and  the 
event  sufficiently  manifests  a  great  decline  in  their  influence, 
or  in  the  talents  and  address,  with  which  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  manage  their  Indian  relations. 

"  The  warlike  and  well-armed  tribes  of  the  Pottawatamies, 
Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Delawares,  and  Miamis,  I  believe 
neither  had,  nor  would  join  in  the  combination  ;  and  although 
the  Kickapoos,  whose  warriors  are  better  than  those  of  any 
other  tribe,  the  remnant  of  the  Wyandot  excepted,  are  much 
under  the  influence  of  the  Prophet.  I  am  persuaded  that 


278  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

they  were  never  made  acquainted  with  his  intentions,  if 
these  were  really  hostile  to  the  United  States. 

"  In  this  same  letter,  the  governor,  at  the  request  of  the 
secretary,  Dr.  Eustis,  gives  his  views  of  the  defence  of  the 
frontiers,  in  which  portion  of  his  epistle  many  valuable  hints 
are  given  in  relation  to  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued  in 
case  of  a  war  with  England. 

"  In  September,  October,  and  December,  the  Governor  of 
Indiana  pucceeded  in  extinguishing  the  claims  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  Pottawatamies,  Miamies,  Eel  river  Indians,  Weas, 
and  Kickapoos,  to  certain  lands  upon  the  Wabash  which 
had  not  yet  been  purchased,  and  which  were  believed  to 
contain  copper  ore.  The  treaties  with  the  Delawares,  Pot- 
tawatamies,  Miamies,  and  Eel  river  Indians,  were  made  at 
Fort  Wayne  ;  the  others  at  Vincennes ;  they  were  protested 
against  by  Tecumthe  in  the  following  year.  In  1809,  the 
western  part  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  long  known  as  '  the 
Illinois,'  was  made  a  separate  territory,  with  the  name  of 
the  great  Indian  nation  which  had  once  lived  there."* 

During  the  year  1810,  the  hostile  intentions  of  Tecumthe 
and  his  followers  were  placed  beyond  all  doubt.  Tecumthe 
denounced  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  in  1809,  as  illegal 
and  unjust,  maintaining  that  no  single  tribe  had  a  right  to 
sell  so  much  land.  That  British  countenance  was  given  to 
his  plans  was  rendered  clear,  though  it  is  believed  that  tho 
rulers  of  Great  Britain  did  not  sanction  the  deeds  of  their 
agents.  The  great  chief  had  formed  the  project  of  uniting 
all  the  western  tribes,  and  had  succeeded  in  forming  a  for 
inidable  confederacy.  By  various  acts  his  feelings  and 
intentions  were  made  known  to  the  whites.  In  August,  1810, 
a  council  was  held  at  Vincennes,  in  which  the  position  of 

*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West 


WILLIAM  HENfcY  HARRISON.  279 

affairs  was  cit-arly  ascertained.     Of  this  council,  Mr.  Drake, 
in  his  life  of  Tecumthe,  gives  the  following  account : 

"Governor  Harrison  had  made  arrangements  for  holding 
the  council  on  the  portico  of  his  own  house,  which  had  been 
fitted  up  with  seats  for  the  occasion.  Here,  on  the  morning 
of  the  15th,  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  chief,  being  at 
tended  by  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  some  officers  of 
the  army,  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men,  from  Fort  Knox,  and 
a  large  number  of  citizens.  At  the  appropriated  hour  Te- 
cumthe, supported  by  forty  of  his  principal  warriors,  made 
his  appearance,  the  remainder  of  his  followers  being  en- 
camped in  the  village  and  its  environs.  When  the  chief  had 
approached  within  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  the  house,  he  sud- 
denly stopped,  as  if  awaiting  some  advance  from  the  governor. 
An  interpreter  was  sent  requesting  him  and  his  followers  to 
take  seats  on  the  portico.  To  this  Tecumthe  objected — he 
iid  not  think  the  place  a  suitable  one  for  holding  the  cdh- 
ference,  but  preferred  that  it  should  take  place  in  a  grove  of 
trees — to  which  he  pointed — standing  a  short  distance  from 
the  house.  The  governor  said  that  he  had  no  objection  to 
the  grove,  except  that  there  were  no  seats  in  it  for  their  ae 
commoda.ion.  Tecumthe  replied,  that  constituted  no  objec- 
tion to  the  grove,  the  earth  being  the  most  suitable  place  for 
the  Indians,  who  loved  to  repose  on  the  bosom  of  their  mother. 
The  governcr  yielded  the  point,  and  the  benches  and  chairs 
having  been  removed  to  the  spot  the  conference  was  begun. 
the  Indians  being  seated  on  the  grass. 

"  Tecumthe  opposed  the  meeting  by  stating,  at  length, 
his  objections  to  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  made  by  Go 
vernor  Harrison  in  the  previous  year ;  and  in  the  com  se  of 
his  speech,  boldly  avowed  the  principle  of  his  party  to  be, 
that  of  resistance  to  every  cession  of  land,  unless  made  by 


280  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

all  the  tribes,  who,  he  contended,  formed  but  one  nation. 
He  admitted  that  he  had  threatened  to  kill  the  chiefs  who 
Bigned  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne ;  and  that  it  was  his  fix<  1 
determination  not  to  permit  the  village  chiefs,  in  future,  to 
m-anage  their  affairs,  but  to  place  the  power  wi;th  which  they 
had  been  hitherto  invested,  in  the  hands  of  the  war  chiefs. 
The  Americans,  he  said,  had  driven  the  Indians  from  the  «ea 
coast,  and  would  soon  push  them  into  the  lakes ;  and,  while 
he  disclaimed  any  intention  of  making  war  upon  the  United 
States,  he  declared  it  to  be  his  unalterable  resolution  to  take 
a  stand,  and  resolutely  oppose  the  further  intrusion  of  the 
whites  upon  the  Indian  lands.  He  concluded,  by  making 
a  brief  but  impassioned  recital  of  the  various  wrongs  and 
aggressions  inflicted  by  the  white  men  upon  the  Indians, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war  down  to 
the  period  of  that  council ;  all  of  Avhich  was  calculated  to 
arouse  and  inflame  the  minds  of  such  of  his  followers  as  were 
present. 

"  To  him  the  governor  replied,  and,  having  taken  his  seat, 
the  interpreter  commenced  explaining  the  speech  to  Te- 
cumthe,  who  after  listening  to  a  portion  of  it,  sprung  to  his 
feet  and  began  to  speak  with  great  vehemence  of  manner. 

"  The  governor  was  surprised  at  his  violent  gestures,  but, 
as  he  did  not  understand  him,  thought  he  was  making  some 
explanation,  and  suffered  his  attention  to  be  drawn  towards 
Winnemac,  a  friendly  Indian,  lying  on  the  grass  before  him, 
who  was  renewing  the  priming  of  his  pistol,  which  he  had 
kept  concealed  from  the  other  Indians,  but  in  full  view  of 
the  governor.  His  attention,  however,  was  again  directed 
towards  Tecumthe,  by  hearing  General  Gibson,  who  was 
intimately  acquainted  the  Shawanee  language,  say  to  Lieu- 
tenant Jennings,  'those  fellows  intend  mischief;  you  had 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  281 

better  bring  up  the  guard.'  At  that  moment,  the  followers 
of  Tecurnthe  seized  their  tomahawks  and  war-clubs,  and 
sprung  upon  their  feet,  their  eyes  turned  upon  the  governor. 
As  soon  as  he  could  disengage  himself  from  the  arm  chair 
in  which  he  sat,  he  rose,  drew  a  small  sword  which  he  had 
by  his  side,  and  stood  on  the  defensive.  Captain  G.  R. 
Floyd,  of  the  army,  who  stood  near  him,  drew  a  dirk,  and 
the  chief  Winnemac  cocked  his  pistol.  The  citizens  were 
more  numerous  than  the  Indians,  but  were  unarmed ;  some 
then  procured  clubs  and  brick-bats,  and  also  stood  on  the 
defensive;  The  Rev.  Mr.  Winans,  of  the  Methodist  church, 
ran  to  the  governor's  house,  got  a  gun,  and  posted  himself 
at  the  door  to  defend  the  family.  During  this  singular 
scene,  no  one  spoke,  until  the  guard  came  running  up,  and 
appearing  to  be  in  the  act  of  firing,  the  governor  ordered 
them  not  to  do  so.  He  then  demanded  of  the  interpreter, 
an  explanation  of  what  had  happened,  who  replied  that  Te 
cumthe  had  interrupted  him,  declaring  that  all  the  governor 
had  said  was  false ;  and  that  he  and  the  Seventeen  Fires 
had  cheated  and  imposed  on  the  Indians. 

"  The  governor  then  told  Tecumthe  that  he  was  a  bad 
man,  and  that  he  would  hold  no  further  communication  with 
him ;  that  as  he  had  come  to  Vincennes  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  council-fire,  he  might  return  in  safety,  but  that  he 
must  immediately  leave  the  village.  Here  the  council 
terminated. 

"  The  now  undoubted  purposes  of  the  brothers  being  of  a 
character  necessarily  leading  to  war,  Governor  Harrison 
proceeded  to  strengthen  himself  for  the  contest  by  preparing 
the  militia,  and  posting  the  regular  troops  that  were  with 
him,  under  Captains  Posey  and  Cross  at  Vincennes  * 
*  Perkin'«  Annals  of  the  West. 


282  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

In  June,  1811,  the  governor  sent  the  Shawanese  a  mes 
sage,  bidding  them  beware  of  hostilities.  To  this,  Tecumthe 
made  a  brief  reply,  promising  to  make  the  governor  a  visit. 
He  kept  his  promise  in  July,  coming  to  Vincennes  with 
three  hundred  Indians.  Nothing  resulted  from  the  meet- 
ing. The  great  chief  proceeded  to  the  south,  it  was  believed 
to  enlist  the  Creeks  in  his  cause. 

Having  received  his  reinforcements,  Governor  Harrison 
determined  to  move  forward,  and  if  necessary,  to  break  up 
the  Prophet's  rendezvous. 

"  On  the  5th  of  October,  he  was  on  the  Wabash,  sixty  or 
sixty-five  miles  above  Vincennes,  at  which  point  he  built 
'  Fort  Harrison.'  Here  one  of  his  sentinels  was  fired  upon, 
and  news  were  received  from  the  friendly  Delawares  which 
made  the  hostile  purposes  of  the  Prophet  plain.  The  go- 
vernor determined  to  move  directly  upon  Tippecanoe,  still 
offering  peace,  however.  Upon  the  31st  of  October  he  was 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion  river,  where  he  built  a 
block  house,  for  the  protection  of  his  boats,  .and  a  place  of 
of  deposit  for  his  heavy  baggage ;  from  that  point  he  ad- 
vanced without  interruption  into  the  vicinity  of  the  Prophet's 
town,  where  he  was  met  by  ambassadors ;  he  told  them  he 
had  no  hostile  intentions  in  case  the  Indians  were  true  to 
existing  treaties,  and  made  preparations  to  encamp.  We 
give  his  own  account  of  the  event  which  ensued : 

"  In  a  few  moments  the  man  who  had  been  with  me  before 
made  his  appearance.  I  informed  him  that  my7  object  for 
the  present  was  to  procure  a  good  piece  of  ground  to  encamp 
on,  where  we  could  get  wood  and  water ;  he  informed  me 
that  there  was  a  creek  to  the  north-west  which  he  thought 
would  suit  our  purpose.  I  immediately  despatched  two  officers 
to  examine  it,  and  they  reported  that  the  situation  wag  ex 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  283 

cellent.  I  then  took  leave  of  the  chief,  and  a  mutual  promise 
was  again  made  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities  until  we  could 
have  an  interview  on  the  following  day.  I  found  the  ground 
destined  for  the  encampment  not  altogether  such  as  I  could 
wish  it — it  was  indeed  admirably  calculated  for  the  encamp- 
ment of  regular  troops,  that  were  opposed  to  regulars,  hut  it 
afforded  great  facility  to  the  approach  of  savages.  It  was  a 
piece  of  dry  oak  land,  rising  about  ten  feet  above  the  level 
of  a  marshy  prairie  in  front  (towards  the  Indian  town)  and 
nearly  twice  that  height  above  a  similar  prairie  in  the  rear, 
through  which  and  near  to  this  bank  ran  a  small  stream 
clothed  with  willows  and  brushwood.  Towards  the  left  flank 
this  bench  of  high  land  widened  considerably,  but  became 
gradually  narrower  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  at  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  right  flai,k, 
terminated  in  an  abrupt  point.  The  two  columns  of  infanay 
occupied  the  front  and  rear  of  this  ground,  at  the  distance  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  each  other  on  the 
left,  and  something  more  than  half  that  distance  on  the  right 
flank — these  flanks  were  filled  up,  by  the  first  two  companies 
of  mounted  riflemen,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Wells, 
of  the  Kentucky  militia,  who  served  as  a  major  ;  the  other 
by  Spencer's  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  which  amounted 
to  eighty  men.  The  front  line  was  composed  of  one  bat- 
talion of  United  States  infantry  under  the  command  of 
Major  Floyd,  flanked  on  the  right  by  two  companies  of  militia, 
and  on  the  left  by  one  company.  The  rear  line  was  composed 
of  a  battalion  of  United  States  troops  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Baen,  acting  as  major,  and  four  companies  of 
militia  infantry  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Decker.  The 
regular  troops  of  this  line  joined  the  mounted  riflemen  under 


284  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

General  Wells,  on  the  left  flank,  and  Colonel  Decker's  bat 
talions  formed  an  angle  with  Spencer's  company  on  the  left. 

"  Two  troops  of  dragoons,  amounting  to  in  the  aggregate 
about  sixty  men,  were  encamped  in  the  rear  of  the  left  flank, 
and  Captain  Parke's  troop,  which  was  larger  than  the  other 
two,  in  the  rear  of  the  front  line.  Our  order  of  encampment 
varied  little  from  that  above  described,  excepting  when  some 
peculiarity  of  the  ground  made  it  necessary.  For  a  night 
attack  the  order  of  encampment  was  the  order  of  battle,  and 
each  man  slept  immediately  opposite  to  his  post  in  the  line. 
In  the  formation  of  my  troops  I  used  a  single  rank,  or  what 
is  called  Indian  file — because  in  Indian  warfare,  there  is  no 
shock  to  resist,  one  rank  is  nearly  as  good  as  two,  and  in  that 
kind  of  warfare  the  extension  is  of  the  first  importance.  Raw 
troops  also  manoeuvre  with  much  more  facility  in  single  than 
in  double  ranks.  It  was  my  constant  custom  to  assemble 
all  my  field  officers  at  my  tent  every  evening  by  signal,  to 
give  the  watchword  and  their  instructions  for  the  night — 
those  given  for  the  night  of  the  6th  were,  that  each  corps 
which  formed  a  part  of  the  exterior  line  of  the  encampment, 
should  hold  its  own  ground  until  relieved.  The  dragoons 
were  directed  to  parade  dismounted  in  case  of  a  night  attack, 
with  their  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  to  act  as  a  corps  de  reserve. 
The  camp  was  defended  by  two  captains'  guards,  consisting 
each  of  four  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates.  The 
whole  under  the  command  of  a  field  officer  of  the  day.  The 
troops  were  regularly  called  up  an  hour  before  day,  and 
made  to  continue  under  arms  until  it  was  quite  light. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  I  had  risen  at  a  quarter  after 
four  o'clock,  and  the  signal  for  calling  out  the  men  would 
have  been  given  in  two  minutes,  when  the  attack  com- 
menced. It  began  on  our  left  flank — but  a  single  gun  was 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  285 

fired  by  tbe  sentinels  or  by  the  guard  in  that  direction,  which 
made  not  the  least  resistance,  but  abandoned  their  officer 
and  fled  into  the  camp,  and  the  first  notice  which  the  troopa 
of  that  flank  had  of  the  danger,  was  from  the  yells  of  the 
savages  within  a  short  distance  of  the  line — but  even  under 
these  circumstances  the  men  were  not  wanting  to  themselves 
or  the  occasion.  Such  of  them  as  were  awake,  or  were 
easily  awakened,  seized  their  arms  and  took  their  stations; 
others  which  were  more  tardy,  had  to  contend  with  the 
enemy  in  the  doors  of  their  tents.  The  storm  first  fell  upon 
Captain  Barton's  company  of  the  4th  United  States  regi- 
ment, and  Captain  Geigler's  company  of  mounted  riflemen, 
which  formed  the  left  angle  of  the  rear  line.  The  fire  upon 
these  was  exceedingly  severe,  and  they  suffered  severely 
before  relief  could  be  brought  to  them.  Some  few  Indians 
passed  into  the  encampment  near  the  angle,  and  one  or  two 
penetrated  to  some  distance  before  they  were  killed.  I  be- 
lieve all  the  other  companies  were  under  arms  and  tolerably 
formed  before  they  were  fired  on.  The  morning  was  dark  and 
cloudy ;  our  fires  afforded  a  partial  light,  which  if  it  gave  us 
some  opportunity  of  taking  our  positions,  was  still  more  ad- 
vantageous to  the  enemy,  affording  them  the  means  of  taking 
a  surer  aim ;  they  were,  therefore,  extinguished  as  soon  as 
possible.  Under  all  these  discouraging  circumstances,  the 
troops  (nineteen-twentieths  of  whom  had  never  been  in  action 
before)  behaved  in  a  manner  that  can  never  be  too  much 
applauded.  They  took  their  places  without  noise  and  with 
less  confusion  than  could  have  been  expected  from  veterans 
placed  in  a  similar  situation.  As  soon  as  I  could  mount 
my  horse,  I  rode  to  the  angle  that  was  attacked — I  found 
chat  Barton's  company  had  suffered  severely  and  the  left  of 
Geigler's  entirely  broken.  I  immediately  ordered  Cook's 


286  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

company  and  the  late  Captain  Wentworth's,  under  Lieute- 
nant Peters,  to  be  brought  up  from  the  centre  of  the  rear 
line,  where  the  ground  was  much  more  defensible,  and  formed 
across  the  angle  in  support  of  Barton's  and  Geigler's.  My 
attention  was  then  engaged  by  a  heavy  firing  upon  the  left 
of  the  front  line,  where  were  stationed  the  small  company 
of  United  States  riflemen  (then,  however,  armed  with 
muskets)  and  the  companies  of  Baen,  Snelling,  and  Prescott. 
of  the  4th  regiment.  I  found  Major  Daviess  forming  the 
dragoons  in  the  rear  of  those  companies,  and  understanding 
that  the  heaviest  part  of  the  fire  proceeded  from  some  trees 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  in  front  of  those  companieSj  I 
directed  the  major  to  dislodge  them  with  a  part  of  his  dra- 
goons. Unfortunately  the  major's  gallantry  determined 
him  to  execute  the  order  with  a  smaller  force  than  was  suf- 
ficient, which  enabled  the  enemy  to  avoid  him  in  front  and 
attack  his  flanks.  The  major  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
his  party  driven  back.  The  Indians  were,  however,  imme- 
diately and  gallantly  dislodged  from  their  advantageous  po- 
sition, by  Captain  Snelling  at  the  head  of  his  company.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  minutes  after  the  commencement  of  the 
attack,  the  fire  extended  along  the  left  flank,  the  whole  of 
the  front,  the  right  flank,  and  part  of  the  rear  line.  Upon 
Spencer's  mounted  riflemen,  and  the  right  of  Warwick's 
company,  which  was  posted  on  the  right  of  the  rear  line,  it 
was  excessively  severe  :  Captain  Spencer,  and  his  first  and 
second  lieutenants  were  killed,  and  Captain  Warwick  was 
mortally  wounded — those  companies,  however,  still  bravely 
maintained  their  posts,  but  Spencer  had  suffered  so  severely, 
and  Laving  originally  too  much  ground  to  occupy,  I  rein- 
forced them  with  Robb's  company  of  riflemen,  which  had 
been  driven,  or  by  mistake  ordered  from  their  position  on 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 


287 


the  left  flank,  toward  the  centre  of  the  camp,  and  filled  the 
vacancy  that  had  been  occupied  by  Robb  with  Prescott'a 
company  of  the  4th  United  States  regiment  My  great 
object  was  to  keep  the  lines  entire,  to  prevent  the  enemy 
from  breaking  into  the  camp  until  daylight,  which  should 
enable  me  to  make  a  general  and  effectual  charge.  With 
this  view,  I  had  reinforced  every  part  of  the  line  that  had 
suffered  much  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  approach  of  morning  dis- 
covered itself,  I  withdrew  from  the  front  line,  Snelling's 
Posey's,  (under  Lieutenant  Albright,)  and  Scott's,  and  from 
the  rear  line,  Wilson's  companies,  and  drew  them  up  upon 
the  left  flank,  and  at  the  same  time,  I  ordered  Cook's  and 
Baen's  companies,  the  former  from  the  rear,  and  the  latter 
from  the  front  line,  to  reinforce  the  right  flank ;  fore- 
seeing that  at  these  points  the  enemy  would  make  their 
last  efforts.  Major  Wells,  who  commanded  on  the  left  flank, 
not  knowing  my  intentions  precisely,  had  taken  the  com- 
mand of  these,  companies,  had  charged  the  enemy  before  I 
had  formed  the  body  of  dragoons  with  which  I  meant  to  sup- 
port the  infantry ;  a  small  detachment  of  these  were,  however  j 
ready,  and  proved  amply  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  The 
Indians  were  driven  by  the  infantry,  at  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net, and  the  dragoons  pursued  and  forced  them  into  a  marsh, 
where  they  could  not  be  followed.  Captain  Cook,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Larebee  had,  agreeably  to  my  order,  marched  their 
companies  to  the  right  flank,  had  formed  them  under  the  fire 
of  the  enemy,  and  being  then  joined  by  the  riflemen  of  that 
Hank,  had  charged  the  Indians,  killed  a  number,  and  put  the 
rest  to  a  precipitate  flight.  A  favorable  opportunity  waa 
here  offered,  to  pursue  the  enemy  with  dragoons,  but  being 
engaged  at  that  time  on  the  other  flank,  I  did  not  observe 
it,  until  it  was  too  late. 


288 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


"  I  have  thus,  sir,  given  you  the  particulars  of  an  action, 
which  was  certainly  maintained  with  the  greatest  bravery 
and  perseverance,  by  both  parties.  The  Indians,  manifested 
a  ferocity  uncommon,  even  with  them — to  their  savage  fury 
our  troops  opposed  that  cool  and  deliberate  valor,  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  Christian  soldier. 

"  The  Americans  in  this  battle  had  not  more  than  seven 
hundred  efficient  men, — non-commissioned  officers  and  pri- 
vates ;  the  Indians  are  believed  to  have  had  eight  hundred 
to  one  thousand  warriors.  The  loss  of  the  American  army 
was  thirty-seven  killed  on  the  field,  twenty-five  mortally 
wounded,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  wounded,  that  of 
the  Indians  about  forty  killed  on  the  spot,  the  number  of 
wounded  being  unknown. 

"  The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought  on  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, and  upon  the  4th  of  the  following  month,  Harrison 
writes  that  the  frontiers  never  enjoyed  more  perfect  repose ; 
though  it  seems  to  be  clear  that  the  disposition^  do  mischief 
was  by  no  means  extinguished  among  the  savages."* 

The  victory  of  Tippecanoe  gave  Harrison  a  high  reputa- 
tion among  his  countrymen.  In  the  west,  he  was  very 
popular.  Before  the  surrender  of  Hull,  at  Detroit,  when  a 
large  volunteers  force  was  called  into  the  field,  Harrison 
was  appointed  to  command  the  Kentucky  troops.  Sooi. 
after,  in  compliance  with  the  general  wish,  he  was  elevated 
to  the  responsible  post  of  commander-in-chief  over  all  the 
forces  of  the  west  and  north-west.  (September  17th,  1812.) 

"When  General  Harrison  found  himself  placed  at  the 
head  of  military  affairs  in  the  west,  his  main  objects  were, 
first,  to  drive  the  Indians  from  the  western  side  of  the  De- 
troit'river  ;  second,  to  take  Maiden;  and  third,  having  thus 

*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  289 

secured  his  communications,  to  recapture  the  Michigan  ter 
ritory  and  its  dependencies.  To  do  all  this  before  winter, 
and  thus  be  prepared  to  conquer  Upper  Canada,  Harrison 
proposed  to  take  possession  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee 
and  there  to  concentrate  his  forces  and  his  stores ;  in  mov- 
ing upon  this  point  he  divided  his  troops  into  three  columns, 
the  right  to  march  from  Wooster  through  Upper  Sandusky, 
the  centre  from  Urbana  by  Fort  McArthur  on  the  heads  of 
the  Scioto,  and  the  left  from  St.  Mary's  by  the  Au-Glaize 
and  Maumee, — all  meeting,  of  course,  at  the  Rapids.  This 
plan,  however,  failed :  the  troops  of  the  left  column  under 
Winchester,  worn  out  and  starved,  were  found  on  the  verge 
of  mutiny,  and  the  mounted  men  of  the  centre,  under  Gene- 
ral Tupper  were  unable  to  do  any  thing,  partly  from  their 
own  want  of  subordination,  but  still  more  from  the  shiftless- 
ness  of  their  commander ;  this  condition  of  the  troops,  and 
the  prevalence  of  disease  among  them,  together  with  the  in- 
creasing difficulty  of  transportation  after  the  autumnal  rain 
Bets  in,  forced  upon  the  commander  the  conviction  that  he 
must  wait  until  the  winter  had  bridged  the  streams  and  mo- 
rasses with  ice,  and  even  when  that  had  taken  place  he  was 
doubtful  as  to  the  wisdom  of  an  attempt  to  conquer  without 
vessels  on  Lake  Erie.* 

Several  expeditions  against  the  Indian  towns  were  under- 
taken, and  they  were  successful  to  a  certain  extent.  In 
December,  Colonel  Campbell,  with  about  six  hundred  men, 
marched  against  the  villages  on  the  Mississinaway,  a  branch 
of  the  Wabash.  He  defeated  the  Indians  in  a  severe  battle, 
and  destroyed  several  of  their  towns. 

After  the  massacre  at  Frenchtown,  General  Harrison  fell 
back  to  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  thence  to  the 

*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West 


290  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Portage,  where  he  waited  until  reinforcements  hureased  his 
army  to  seventeen  hundred  men,  and  then  once  more  ad- 
vanced to  the  Rapids,  where  the  troops  were  ordered  to  con- 
centrate. He  projected  a  winter  campaign  against  Maiden  ; 
but  the  delay  of  the  reinforcements  frustrated  the  plan,  arid 
he  was  then  compelled  to  fortify  his  camp  to  be  prepared 
for  any  hostile  movement  of  the  British  and  Indians. 

The  fortified  camp  was  called  Fort  Meigs.  On  the  28th 
of  April,  1813,  a  large  force  of  British  and  Indians,  under 
the  command  of  Proctor  and  Tecumthe,  appeared  before 
the  works  and  began  to  erect  their  batteries.  Harrison 
ordered  his  men  to  throw  up  a  bank  of  earth  twelve  feet 
high,  and  upon  a  basis  of  twenty  feet,  behind  which  the 
whole  garrison  withdrew,  upon  the  1st  of  May,  when  the 
enemy  were  ready  to  open  their  fire. 

"  Upon  this  bank  the  ammunition  of  his  majesty  was 
wasted  in  vain,  and  down  to  the  5th,  nothing  was  effected 
by  either  party.  On  that  day,  General  Clay,  with  twelve 
hundred  additional  troops,  came  down  the  Maumee  in  flat- 
boats,  and,  in  accordance  with  orders  received  from  Har- 
rison, detached  eight  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  Dudley, 
to  attack  the  batteries  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  while, 
with  the  remainder  of  his  forces,  he  landed  upon  the  southern 
shore,  and  after  some  loss  and  delay,  fought  his  way  into 
camp.  Dudley,  on  his  part,  succeeded  perfectly  in  captur- 
ing the  batteries,  but  instead  of  spiking  the  cannon,  and 
then  instantly  returning  to  the  boats,  he  suffered  his  men 
to  waste  their  time,  and  skirmish  with  the  Indians,  until 
Proctor  was  able  to  cut  them  off  from  their  only  chance  of 
retreat ;  taken  by  surprise,  and  disorder,  the  greater  part 
of  the  detachment  became  an  easy  prey,  only  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  the  eight  hundred  men  escaping  captivity  or 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  291 

death.  This  sad  result  was  partially,  though  but  little,  al- 
leviated by  the  success  of  a  sortie  made  from  the  fort  by 
Colonel  Miller,  in  which  he  captured  and  made  useless  the 
batteries,  that  had  been  erected  south  of  the  Maumee.  The 
result  of  the  day's  doings  had  been  sad  enough  for  the 
Americans,  but  still  the  British  general  saw  in  it  nothing  to 
encourage  him ;  his  cannon  had  done  nothing,  and  were  in 
fact  no  longer  of  value  ;  his  Indian  allies  found  it  '  hard  to 
fight  people  who  lived  like  groundhogs  ;'  news  of  the  Ameri- 
can successes  below  had  been  received ;  and  additional  troops 
were  approaching  from  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  Proctor,  weigh- 
ing all  things,  determined  to  retreat,  and  upon  the  9th  of 
May,  returned  to  Maiden."* 

About  the  middle  of  July,  however,  the  enemy  once  more 
appeared  before  Fort  Meigs,  and  remained  in  the  vicinity  a 
week,  using  various  stratagems  to  draw  the  American  from 
their  works.  Being  unsuccessful,  they  then  proceeded  to 
Fort  Stephenson.  But  the  gallant  young  Croghan,  who 
commanded  at  that  post,  gave  them  a  severe  repulse,  and 
baffled  their  most  strenuous  efforts.  Proctor  and  Tecumthe, 
having  the  fear  of  Harrison  as  a  spur,  then  hurried  away 
towards  Maiden. 

The  victory  gained  by  Commodore  Perry,  upon  Lake 
Erie,  was  decisive  of  affairs  in  the  north-west^  Harrison, 
having  received  all  his  expected  reinforcements,  embarked 
in  Perry's  fleet,  on  the  27th  of  September,  and  set  sail  for 
the  shores  of  Canada.  Proctor  abandoned  Maiden,  intend- 
ing to  make  his  way  to  the  heart  of  Canada  by  way  of  the 
valley  of  the  Thames. 

"  On  the  29th,  Harrison  was  at  Sandwich,  and  McArthur 
took  possession  of  Detroit  and  the  territory  of  Michigan.  At 
*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West. 


292  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

this  point  Colonel  Johnson's  mounted  rifle  regiment,  whijh 
had  gone  up  the  west  side  of  the  river,  rejoined  the  main  army. 
On  the  2d  of  October,  the  Americans  began  their  march  in 
pursuit  of  Proctor,  whom  they  overtook  upon  the  5th.  He 
had  posted  his  army  with  the  left  resting  on  the  river,  while 
the  right  flank  was  defended  by  a  marsh ;  the  ground  between 
the  river  and  the  marsh  was  divided  lengthwise  by  a  smaller 
swamp,  so  as  to  make  two  distinct  fields  in  which  the  troops 
were  to  operate.  The  British  were  in  two  lines,  occupying 
the  field  between  the  river  and  the  small  swamp ;  the  Indians 
extended  from  the  small  to  the  large  morass,  the  ground 
being  suitable  for  their  mode  of  warfare,  and  unfavorable  for 
cavalry. 

We  quote  from  Harrison's  official  despatch ;  "  The  troops 
at  my  disposal  consisted  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
regulars  of  the  27th  regiment,  five  brigades  of  Kentucky  volun- 
teer militia  infantry,  under  his  excellency  Governor  Shelby, 
averaging  less  than  five  hundred  men,  and  Colonel  Johnson's 
regiment  of  mounted  infantry,  making  in  the  whole  an  ag- 
gregate of  something  above  three  thousand  men.  No  disposi- 
tion of  an  army,  opposed  to  an  Indian  force,  can  be  safe 
unless  it  is  secured  on  the  flanks  and  in  the  rear.  I  had, 
therefore,  no  difficulty  in  arranging  the  infantry  conformably 
to  my  general  order  of  battle.  General  Trotter's  brigade 
of  five  hundred  men,  formed  the  front  line,  his  right  upon 
the  road  and  his  left  upon  the  swamp.  General  King's  bri- 
gade as  a  second  line,  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  the 
rear  of  Trotter's  and  Chile's  brigade  as  a  corps  of  reserve 
in  the  rear  of  it.  These  three  brigades  formed  the  command 
of  Major-General  Henry;  the  whole  of  General  Desha's  di- 
vision, consisting  of  two  brigades,  were  formed  en  potenct 
upon  the  left  of  Trotter. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  293 

*'  "Whilst  I  was  engaged  in  forming  the  infantry,  I  had 
directed  Colonel  Johnson's  regiment,  which  was  still  in  front, 
to  be  formed  in  two  lines  opposite  to  the  enemy,  and  upon 
the  advance  of  the  infantry,  to  take  ground  to  the  left  and 
forming  upon  that  flank  to  endeavor  to  turn  the  right  of  the 
Indians.  A  moment's  reflection,  however,  convinced  me 
that  from  the  thickness  of  the  woods  and  swampiness  of  the 
ground,  they  would  be  unable  to  do  any  thing  on  horseback, 
and  there  was  no  time  to  dismount  them  and  place  their 
horses  in  security ;  I,  therefore,  determined  to  refuse  my  left 
to  the  Indians,  and  to  break  the  British  lines  at  once,  by  a 
charge  of  the  mounted  infantry  :  the  measure  was  not  sanc- 
tioned by  any  thing  that  I  had  seen  or  heard  of,  but  I  was 
fully  convinced  that  it  would  succeed.  The  American  back- 
woodsmen ride  better  in  the  woods  than  any  other  people. 
A  musket  or  rifle  is  no  impediment  to  them,  being  accustomed 
to  carry  them  on  horseback  from  their  earliest  youth.  I  was 
persuaded  too,  that  the  enemy  would  be  quite  unprepared 
for  the  shock,  and  that  they  could  not  resist  it.  Conformably 
to  this  idea,  I  directed  the  regiment  to  be  drawn  up  in  close 
column,  with  its  right  at  the  distance  of  fifty  yards  from  the 
road,  (that  it  might  be  in  some  measure  protected  by  the 
trees  from  the  artillery)  its  left  upon  the  swamp,  and  to 
charge  at  full  speed  as  soon  as  the  enemy  delivered  their  fire. 
The  few  regular  troops  of  the  27th  regiment  under  their 
Colonel  (Paull)  occupied,  in  column  of  section  of  four,  the 
small  space  between  the  road  and  the  river,  for  the  purpose 
of  seizing  the  enemy's  artillery,  and  some  ten  or  twelve 
friendly  Indians  were  directed  to  move  under  the  bank.  The 
crotchet  formed  by  the  front  line,  and  General  Desha's  di 
vision  was  an  important  point.  At  that  place,  the  venerable 
governor  of  Kentucky  was  posted,  who  at  the  age  of  sixty- 


294  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

six  preserves  all  the  vigor  of  youth,  the  ardent  zeal  which 
distinguished  him  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  the  undaunted 
bravery  which  he  manifested  at  King's  Mountain.  With 
my  aid-de-camp,  the  acting  assistant  adjutant-general,  Cap- 
tain Butler,  my  gallant  friend,  Commodore  Perry,  who  did 
me  the  honor  to  serve  as  my  volunteer  aid-de-camp,  and 
Brigadier  General  Cass,  who  having  no  command,  tendered 
me  his  assistance,  I  placed  myself  at  the  head  of  the  front 
line  of  infantry,  to  direct  the  movements  of  the  cavalry, 
and  give  them  the  necessary  support.  The  army  had  moved 
on  in  this  order  but  a  short  distance,  when  the  mounted  men 
received  the  fire  of  the  British  line,  and  were  ordered  to 
charge  ;  the  horses  in  the  front  of  the  column  recoiled  from 
the  fire ;  another  was  given  by  the  enemy,  and  our  column 
at  length  getting  in  motion,  broke  through  the  enemy  with 
irresistible  force.  In  one  minute  the  contest  in  front  was 
over ;  the  British  officers  seeing  no  hopes  of  reducing  their 
disordered  ranks  to  order,  and  our  mounted  men  wheeling 
upon  them  and  pouring  in  a  destructive  fire,  immediately 
surrendered.  It  is  certain  that  three  only  of  our  troops 
were  wounded  in  this  charge.  Upon  the  left,  however,  the 
contest  was  more  severe  with  the  Indians.  Colonel  Johnson, 
who  commanded  on  that  flank  of  his  regiment,  received  a 
most  galling  fire  from  them,  which  was  returned  with  great 
effect. 

"  The  Indians  still  further  to  the  right  advanced  and 
fell  in  with  our  front  line  of  infantry,  near  its  junction  with 
Dcsha's  division,  and  for  a  moment  made  an  impression  upon 
it.  His  excellency,  Governor  Shelby,  however,  brought  up 
a  regiment  to  its  support,  and  the  enemy  receiving  a  severe 
fire  in  front,  and  a  part  of  Johnson's  regiment  having  gained 
their  rear,  retreated  with  precipitation.  Their  loss  was  verj 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 


205 


considerable  in  the  action,  and  many  were  killed  in  their 
retreat."* 

The  victory  of  the  Thames  excited  much  rejoicing  through- 
out the  north-west.  The  President,  Mr.  Madison,  spoke  of 
it  as  "highly  honorable  to  Major-General  Harrison,"  and 
Congress  adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
the  thanks  of  Congress  be,  and  .they  are  hereby,  presented  to 
Major-General  William  Henry  Harrison,  and  Isaac  Shelby, 
late  Governor  of  Kentucky,  and  through  them  to  the  officers 
and  men  under  their  command,  for  their  gallant  and  good 
conduct  in  defeating  the  combined  British  and  Indian  forces 
under  Major-General  Proctor,  on  the  Thames,  in  Upper 
Canada,  on  the  5th  day  of  October,  1813,  capturing  the^ 
British  army,  with  their  baggage,  camp  equipage,  and  artil- 
lery ;  and  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  be  re- 
quested to  cause  two  gold  medals  to  be  struck,  emblematical 
of  this  triumph,  and  presented  to  General  Harrison  and 
Isaac  Shelby,  late  Governor  of  Kentucky." 

General  Harrison's  military  career  was  now  cut  short  by 
the  undignified  conduct  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  General 
Armstrong,  who  gave  instructions  to  inferior  officers,  with- 
out consulting  the  commander-in-chief,  and  discovered  a 
strong  prejudice  against  him.  Harrison  visited  Washington, 
receiving  many  demonstrations  of  respect  and  gratitude 
upon  the  route,  and  tendered  his  resignation.  President 
Madison  was  then  absent  from  the  capital,  and  the  war  de- 
partment accepted  the  general's  resignation  without  con- 
sulting him.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Madison  greatly  regretted 
that  he  had  not  received  some  intimation  of  Harrison's  in- 

*  Perkin's  Annals  of  the  West 


296  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tcntions  before  they  were  fulfilled.  However,  the  President 
gave  him  a  fresh  token  of  his  confidence,  by  appointing 
him,  in  the  summer  of  1814,  in  conjunction  with  Governor 
Shelby  and  General  Cass,  to  treat  with  the  Indians  at 
Greenville.  During  the  following  year,  when  the  treaty 
of  Ghent  provided  for  the  pacification  of  several  important 
tribes,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  commission. 

In  1816,  General  Harrison  was  chosen  to  represent  the 
district  of  Ohio,  in  which  he  resided,  in  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States,  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  for 
the  two  succeeding  years.  He  had  scarcely  taken  his  seat 
at  Washington  before  his  conduct  while  in  command  of  the 
north-western  army  was  impugned.  At  the  instance  of  the 
general,  a  committee  of  investigation  was  appointed,  of 
^which  Colonel  Johnson  was  chairman.  The  result  was  a 
triumphant  vindication  of  the  patriotism,  disinterestedness, 
and  ability  of  the  slandered  soldier. 

While  in  Congress,  General  Harrison  labored  to  accom- 
plish two  important  objects ;  a  reform  in  the  militia,  and  the 
relief  of  the  veterans  of  the  revolution  and  the  disabled  in 
the  late  war.  The  first  he  could  not  effect.  But  the  second 
was  accomplished,  and  many  a  pensioner  had  reason  to  re- 
gard General  Harrison  as  a  benefactor.  He  generally  con- 
curred in  the  views  of  the  statesman,  Henry  Clay,  but  did 
not  agree  with  him  in  his  wholesale  censure  of  General 
Jackson's  conduct  in  the  Seminole  war.  Harrison  gave 
Jackson  credit  for  patriotic  motives,  and  approved  of  many 
of  his  acts.* 

In  1819,  General  Harrison  was  elected  to  the  senate  of 
Ohio.  In  1824,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  presidential 
electors  of  that  state,  on  the  ticket  formed  by  the  friends 

*  Statesman's  Manual. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  297 

bf  Mr.  Clay,  and  gave  his  vote  for  that  statesman  as  hia 
choice  for  President.  In  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  senate  of  the  United  States.  Soon  after 
taking  his  seat  in  that  body,  he  was  appointed  chairman  of 
the  military  committee  in  place  of  General  Jackson,  who 
had  resigned.  He  was  a  supporter  of  the  administration 
of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  in  1828,  he  was  appointed  by 
that  President,  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  republic  of 
Columbia. 

Arriving  at  Bogota,  in  December,  1828,  Harrison  found 
the  country  in  a  state  of  confusion.  Though  at  first  re- 
ceived with  many  token  of  respect,  his  plain  republican 
manners  ultimately  caused  him  to  be  suspected  of  favoring 
the  liberal  party,  and  subjected  him  to  many  annoyances. 
However,  he  was  speedily  relieved.  One  of  the  very  first 
acts  of  General  Jackson's  administration  was  to  recall  him 
from  the  mission.  Before  leaving  Columbia,  Harrison  ad- 
dressed to  General  Bolivar  his  famous  appeal  in  favor  of 
constitutional  liberty,  a  document  which  has  so  often  been 
quoted  in  North  and  South  America.  The  pure  principles 
and  fervid  eloquence  of  this  appeal  have  always  been  deemed 
highly  honorable  to  its  author. 

Upon  his  return  to  the  United  States,  General  Harrison 
retired  to  his  farm  at  North  Bend,  on  the  Ohio,  a  few  miles 
below  Cincinnati.  As  a  means  of  contributing  to  his  sup- 
port, he  accepted  the  office  of  clerk  to  the  court  of  Hamilton 
county,  in  which  he  resided.  This  station  he  held  up  to  the 
time  of  election  to  the  Presidency,  evincing  an  utter  con- 
tempt for  the  false  notions  of  dignity  prevalent  among  those 
who  had  held  high  office  under  the  general  government. 

In  1835,  the  friends  of  General  Harrison  determined  to 
bring  him  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  to  sue- 


298  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ceed  General  Jackson.  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  the  adminis- 
tration  candidate.  The  opposition  could  not  unite  in  sup- 
port of  Harrison.  If  it  had  been  otherwise,  it  is  believed 
that  he  might  have  been  elected.  Judge  Hugh  L.  White, 
of  Tennessee ;  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts ;  and 
Willie  P.  Mangum,  of  North  Carolina,  were  nominated  and 
voted  for  by  portions  of  the  party  opposed  to  the  succession 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  The  election  occurred  in  1836,  and  the 
result  showed  the  popularity  of  General  Harrison.  Without 
any  general  concert  among  his  friends,  he  received  seventy- 
three  electoral  votes,  and  in  many  of  the  states  which  cast 
their  vote  for  Mr.  Van  Buren,  received  strong  manifestations 
of  the  people. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1839,  the  national  whig  conven- 
tion assembled  at  Harrisburg,  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  nominate  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice  Presi- 
dency. Three  well-known  names  were  brought  forward — 
those  of  General  Harrison,  Henry  Clay,  and  General  Scott. 
Twenty-two  states  were  represented  in  the  convention,  and 
on  an  informal  ballot  per  capita,  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Clay 
had  a  decided  plurality,  but  neither  of  the  candidates  had  a 
clear  majority  of  the  delegates.  It  was  then  determined  to 
vote  by  states,  each  state  to  have  as  many  votes  in  the  con- 
vention as  it  had  electoral  votes.  On  the  first  ballot,  one 
hundred  and  three  voted  for  Clay,  ninety-four  for  Harrison, 
and  fifty-seven  for  Scott.  The  delegates  then  compared 
their  views  to  ascertain  which  of  the  candidates  had  the 
best  chance  of  success.  Harrison's  friends  were  successful. 
After  a  session  of  three  days,  the  convention  took  a'  final 
ballot,  when  Harrison  received  one  hundred  and  forty-eight 
votes ;  Clay,  ninety ;  and  Scott,  sixteen.  General  Har- 
rison was  therefore  declared  the  nominee  for  the  Presidency 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 


299 


John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  was  unanimously  nominated  for  the 
Vice  Presidency.  These  gentlemen  concentrated  the  whole 
force  of  the  opposition  throughout  the  country.  The  con- 
test was  very  spirited,  but  the  result  was  the  triumph  of 
Harrison  and  Tyler,  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  Har- 
rison received  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  electoral  votes ; 
Mr.  Van  Buren  only  sixty.  During  the  contest,  General 
Harrison  attended  several  mass  meetings,  in  Ohio,  and  ad- 
dressed the  people,  with  power  and  effect.  His  success 
occasioned  general  rejoicing.  Much  was  expected  from  his 
well-known  honesty  and  patriotism. 

General  Harrison  left  home  for  the  capital,  in  February, 
1841.  Along  his  route,  he  was  greeted  by  immense  assem- 
blages of  the  people,  and  treated  with  every  mark  of  respect, 
by  his  enthusiastic  and  triumphant  friends.  He  was  then 
sixty-five  years  of  age,  and  his  venerable  appearance  ex- 
cited that  attention  from  his  opponents,  which,  perhaps, 
the  recollection  of  his  public  services,  and  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  last  President,  upon  whose  youth  Washington 
had  gazed,  could  not  have  secured.  The  inauguration  dreW 
a  vast  number  of  strangers  to  Washington  City,  and  the 
-attending  pageants  were  of  a  splendid  character.  A  gr^rad 
procession  in  the  day,  and  several  balls  in  the  evening, 
occupied  the  great  throng  of  visitors. 

The  inaugural  address  of  General  Harrison  was  ait  able 
and  eloquent  production.  It  gave  a  review  of  the  powers 
granted  to  the  general  government,  and  an  estimacj  of  the 
abuses  to  which  they  were  liable  and  had  been  applied.  Hig 
opinions  were  of  the  Jefferson  stamp.  He  considered  the 
powers  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  President  as  too  sweep 
ing  and  dangerous,  and  declared  his  intention  of  exercising 
them  with  moderation.  In  what  othef  republic,  has  an  ex 


300  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ecutive  officer  thus  spoken  ?  In  the  republic  of  the  ancient 
world,  the  grasp  of  power  was  universal.  The  following 
quotation  from  General  Harrison's  address  will  give  an  idsa 
of  the  character  of  his  views. 

"  Upwards  of  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the  adop- 
tion of  our  present  form  of  government.  It  would  be  an 
object  more  highly  desirable  than  the  gratification  of  the 
curiosity  of  speculative  statesmen,  if  its  precise  situation  could 
be  ascertained,  a  fair  exhibit  made  of  the  operations  of  each 
of  its  departments,  of  the  powers  which  they  respectively 
claim  and  exercise,  of  the  collisions  which  have  occurred  be- 
tween them,  or  between  the  whole  government  and  those 
of  the  states,  or  either  of  them.  We  could  then  compare 
our  actual  condition,  after  fifty  years'  trial  of  our  system, 
with  what  it  was  in  the  commencement  of  its  operations,  and 
ascertain  whether  the  predictions  of  the  patriots  who  op- 
posed its  adoption,  or  the  confident  hopes  of  its  advocates, 
have  been  realized.  The  great  dread  of  the  former  seems 
to  have  been,  that  the  reserved  powers  of  the  state  would 
Be  absorbed  by  those  of  the  federal  governments,  and  a  conso- 
lidated power  established,  leaving  to  the  states  the  shadow, 
only,  of  that  independent  action  for  which  they  had  so  zea- 
lously contended,  and  on  the  preservation  of  which  they 
relied  as  the  last  hope  of  liberty.  Without  denying  that 
the  result  to  which  they  looked  with  so  much  apprehension 
is  in  the  way  of  being  realized,  it  is  obvious  that  they  did 
not  clearly  see  the  mode  of  its  accomplishment.  The  gene- 
ral government  has  seized  upon  none  of  the  reserved  rights 
of  the  states.  As  far  as  any  open  warfare  may  have  gone, 
the  state  authorities  have  amply  maintained  their  rights. 
To  a  casual  observer,  our  system  presents  no  appearance  of 
discord  between  the  different  members  which  compose  it 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  301 

E.VCH  the  addition  of  many  new  ones  has  produced  no  jarring. 
They  move  in  their  respective  orbits  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  central  head,  and  with  each  other.  But  there  is 
still  an  under  current  at  work,  by  which,  if  not  seasonably 
checked,  the  worst  apprehensions  of  our  anti-federal  patriots 
will  be  realized.  And  not  only  will  the  state  authorities  be 
overshadowed  by  the  great  increase  of  power  in  the  execu- 
tive department  of  the  general  government,  but  the  cha- 
racter of  that  government,  if  not  its  designation,  be  essen- 
tially and  radically  changed.  This  state  of  things  has  been, 
in  part,  effected  by  causes  inherent  in  the  constitution,  and 
in  part,  by  the  never-failing  tendency  of  political  power  to 
to  increase  itself. 

"  By  making  the  President  the  sole  distributor  of  all  the 
patronage  of  the  government,  the  framers  of  the  constitu- 
tion do  not  appear  to  have  anticipated  at  how  short  a  period 
it  would  become  a  formidable  instrument  to  control  the  free 
operations  of  the  state  governments.  Of  trifling  importance 
at  first,  it  had,  early  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,  be- 
come so  powerful  as  to  create  great  alarm  in  the  mind  of 
that  patriot,  from  the  potent  influence  it  might  exert  in 
controlling  the  freedom  of  the  elective  franchise.  If  such 
could  have  then  been  the  effects  of  its  influence,  how  much 
greater  must  be  the  danger  at  this  time,  quadrupled  in 
amount,  as  it  certainly  is,  and  more  completely  under  the 
control  of  the  executive  will,  than  their  construction  of  their 
limited  powers  allowed,  or  the  forbearing  characters  of  all 
the  early  Presidents  permitted  them  to  make  ?  But  it  is 
not  by  the  extent  of  its  patronage  alone  that  the  executive 
department  has  become  dangerous,  but  by  the  use  which  it 
appears  may  be  made  of  the  appointing  power,.to  bring 
under  its  control  the  whole  revenues  of  the  country.  The 


302  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

constitution  has  declared  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  President 
to  see  that  the  laws  are  executed,  and  it  makes  him  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  and  navy  of  the  United 
States.  If  the  opinion  of  the  most  approved  writers  upon 
that  species  of  mixed  government,  which,  in  modern  Eu- 
rope, is  termed  monarchy,  in  contradistinction  to  despotism, 
is  correct,  .there  was  wanting  no  other  addition  to  the 
powers  of  our  chief  magistrate  to  stamp  a  monarchical  cha- 
racter on  our  government,  but  the  control  of  the  public 
finances.  And  to  me  it  appears  strange  indeed,  that  any  one 
should  doubt  that  the  entire  control  which  the  President 
possesses  over  the  officers  who  have  the  custody  of  the  public 
money,  by  the  power  of  removal,  with  or  without  cause, 
does,  for  all  mischievous  purposes  at  least,  virtually  subject 
the  treasury  also  to  his  disposal." 

President  Harrison  nominated  the  following  gentlemen 
to  form  his  cabinet :  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts,  Se- 
cretary of  State  ;  Thomas  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury ;  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  Secretary  of  War ; 
George  C.  Badger,  of  North  Carolina,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  ;  Francis  Granger,  of  New  York,  Postmaster-General ; 
John  J.  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky,  Attorney-General.  The 
nominations  were  all  confirmed  by  the  senate.  The  cabinet 
was  one  of  great  ability,  and  much  was  expected  from  ita 
administration. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  President  Harrison  issued  a  pro- 
clamation, calling  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  principally 
on  account  of  the  revenue  and  finances  of  the  country,  to 
begin  on  the  last  Monday  in  the  ensuing  May.  But  before 
that  meeting,  the  country  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss 
of  its  chief  magistrate. 

On  Saturday,   March  27th,  President    Harrison,   after 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON.  303 

several  days  previous  indisposition  from  the  effects  of  a  cold 
was  seized  with  a  chill  and  other  symptoms  of  fever.  These 
were  followed  by  bilious  pleurisy,  which  resisted  all  the  art 
of  medicine,  and  terminated  the  President's  eventful  life  on 
the  4th  of  April,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  The  last 
words  he  was  heard  to  speak  were  as  follows :  "  Sir,  I  wish 
you  t1:  understand  the  principles  of  the  government.  I  wish 
"them  carried  out.  I  ask  nothing  more."  He  fancied  he  was 
addressing  his  successor. 

At  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  the  President,  grief 
was  general  throughout  the  country.  Never  since  the  time 
of  Washington  has  one  man  so  concentrated  upon  himself 
the  love  and  confidence  of  the  American  people.*  From 
all  sides  came  the  sounds  of  woe.  The  nation  put  on  mourn- 
ing for  the  loss  of  its  patriotic  son  and  venerated  ruler.  On 
the  7th  of  April,  the  funeral  of  President  Harrison  took 
place  at  Washington.  The  civil  and  military  procession  was 
large  and  imposing.  The  body  was  interred  in  the  Congres- 
sional burying  ground,  but  afterwards  removed  to  North  Bend, 
Ohio,  at  the  request  of  the  family  of  General  Harrison. 
Throughout  the  country  funeral  honors  were  awarded  to  the 
memory  of  the  illustrious  dead.  In  courts,  legislatures, 
churches,  and  societies,  the  event  was  solemnly  mentioned. 

In  person,  General  Harrison  was  tall  and  rather  thin. 
By  habits  of  activity  and  temperance  he  enjoyed  bodily  health 
and  vigor  even  at  an  advanced  age.  He  had  a  mild  benevo- 
lent expression  of  countenance,  and  his  dark  eye  was  remark- 
able for  its  quickness  and  fire.  His  talents  were  of  a  very 
high  order,  and  his  acquirements  extensive.  All  his  compo- 
Bitions  display  taste  and  judgment.  As  a  general,  he  was 
bold,  active,  prudent  and  fertile  of  resource. 

*  National  Intelligencer. 


JOHN  TYLER. 

VIRGINIA  has  been  called  "  the  mother  of  Presidents." 
Of  the  thirteen  chief  magistrates  whom  the  people  have 
chosen,  seven  were  born  in  Virginia,  viz. :  Washington, 
Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Harrison,  Tyler,  and  Taylor. 
May  the  Old  Dominion  have  many  more  "such  seeds 
within  her  breast ! "  Her  warriors,  orators,  and  statesmen 
have  proved  to  be  of  a  growth  unsurpassed  in  any  country 
—  the  flower  of  mankind.  Their  swords,  pens,  and 
tongues  have  battled  upon  the  side  of  freedom  and  in- 
dependence, and  they  have  held  the  helm  of  state  with 
firm  and  skilful  hands.  If  Virginia  should  continue  to 
produce  such  men,  her  sister  states  can  well  afford  to 
allow  her  to  lift  them  to  the  presidential  chair. 

John  Tyler,  who  succeeded  General  Harrison  in  the 
presidential  office,  was  the  sixth  chief  magistrate  whose 
birthplace  was  in  the  "Old  Dominion."  His  ances- 
tors were  among  the  early  English  settlers  in  that 
province.  It  is  understood  that  the  family  traces  its 
lineage  to  Walter  or  Wat  Tyler,  who,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  headed  an  insurrection  in  England,  in  defence 
of  the  rights  of  the  people.  John  Tyler,  the  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  marshal  of 
the  colony,  under  the  royal  government,  up  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  after  the  remonstrances  against 

305 


806  "  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  stamp  act.  His  patrimonial  estate  covered  a  large  tra  t 
of  country  in  and  about  Williamsburg.  His  son,  also  named 
John,  entered  into  the  discussion  concerning  the  grievances 
of  the  colonies,  and  became  distinguished  as  an  ardent  pa- 
triot. The  Virginians  successively  raised  him  to  the  offices 
of  speaker  of  the  house  of  delegates,  governor  of  the  state, 
and  judge  of  one  of  their  highest  courts.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  of  1812,  ho  T/as  appointed  by  President  Ma- 
dison, a  judge  of  the  federal  court  of  admiralty.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1813,  he  died,  full  of  years  and  honors,  leaving  three 
Bons,  Wat,  John,  and  William.* 

John  Tyler,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  Charles 
City  County,  Virginia,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1790.  After 
receiving  the  usual  elementary  education,  he  entered  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College,  being  then  twelve  years  old.  He 
graduated  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  on  that  occasion 
delivered  an  address  on  the  subject  of  "  female  education," 
which  was  pronounced  by  the  faculty  a  most  masterly  per 
formance.  The  two  years  subsequent  to  his  graduation, 
Mr.  Tyler  spent  in  reading  law,  under  the  instruction  of  his 
father  and  Edmund  Randolph. 

At  nineteen  years  of  age,  young  Tyler  received  a  certifi- 
cate that  he  was  competent  to  practise  his  profession.  Hia 
success  was  singular.  Ere  three  months  had  elapsed,  there 
was  scarce  a  disputable  case  on  the  docket  of  the  court 
in  which  he  was  not  retained.  When  but  twenty  years  old, 
he  was  offered  a  seat  in  the  legislature.  But  he  declined 
the  honor  until  the  following  year,  when  he  was  chosen 
nearly  unanimously,  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates 
December,  1811.) 

Mr.  Tyler  was  attached  to  the  party  of  Jefferson  and 

*  Statesman's  Manual. 


JOHN  TYLER.  307 

Madison.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  supported 
the  policy  of  the  administration,  and  advocated  with  an 
eloquence  that  attracted  general  attention,  the  most  ener- 
getic measures.  Messrs.  Giles  and  Brent,  the  senators  in 
Congress  from  Virginia,  at  that  time,  were  instructed  by 
the  legislature  to  vote  against  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of 
the  national  bank.  Mr.  Brent  disobeyed.  Mr.  Tyler  then 
introduced  a  resolution  of  censure  into  the  house  of  dele- 
gates,  animadverting  severely  upon  the  course  of  the  senator, 
and  laying  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  any  person  accept- 
ing the  office  of  senator  of  the  United  States,  from  the  state 
of  Virginia,  tacitly  bound  himself  to  obey  the  instructions 
of  the  legislature.  This  movement,  in  favor  of  the  much 
discussed  "right  of  instruction,"  shows  Mr.  Tyler  to  have 
entertained  the  broadest  democratic  opinions.  He  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  for  five  successive  years,  on  some 
occasions,  receiving  nearly  the  unanimous  vote  of  his  native 
county. 

At  the  time  the  British  forces  were  in  the  Chesapeake 
Bay,  Mr.  Tyler  raised  a  volunteer  company,  and  strove  to 
effect  a  thorough  organization  of  the  militia  in  his  neighbor- 
hood. But  he  never  had  an  opportunity  of  bringing  his 
troops  into  action,  and  his  military  career  was  therefore 
nipped  in  the  bud.  His  conduct,  however,  evinces  his 
patriotism  and  desire  to  serve  his  country. 

During  the  legislative  session  of  1815—16,  Mr.  Tyler 
waa  elected  a  member  of  the  executive  council,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  November,  1816,  when  after  a  close 
and  exciting  contest,  he  was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the 
representation  of  the  Richmond  district  in  Congress.  An- 
drew Stevenson,  a  distinguished  politician  of  the  same 
school  as  Mr.  Tyler,  was  the  opposing  candidate.  The  next 


308  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

month,  Mr.  Tyler,  then  twenty-six  years  old,  took  his  scat 
in  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  United  States.  In 
April,  1817,  he  was  re-elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority 
over  his  former  rival,  Mr.  Stevenson. 

In  Congress  Mr.  Tyler  maintained  the  state-right,  strict- 
construction  doctrines  of  the  dominant  party  in  Virginia. 
He  opposed  a  system  of  internal  improvements  and  a  national 
bank ;  but  agreed  with  Mr.  Clay  and  others  in  censuring 
the  conduct  of  General  Jackson  in  the  Seminole  War.  His 
6peeches  brought  him  into  general  esteem.  In  1819,  he  was 
re-elected  to  Congress,  there  being  no  opposing  candidate. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  the  debate  upon  the  Missouri  ques- 
tion, sanctioning  the  southern  side,  opposed  a  protective  tariff, 
and  labored  earnestly  as  a  member  of  the  committee  of  ways 
and  means.  Constant  toil  and  confinement  almost  prostrated 
a  constitution  naturally  weak.  Mr.  Tyler  was  compelled  tc 
resign  his  seat  before  the  expiration  of  the  term,  and  retire 
to  his  estate  in  Charles  City  county,  to  recruit  his  health. 
At  the  same  time  he  recommended  his  former  rival,  Andrew 
Btevenson,  to  the  favor  of  his  constituents. 

In  the  spring  of  1823,  after  much  urgent  solicitation,  Mr. 
Tyler  consented  to  become  again  a  candidate  for  the  legis- 
lature. He  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, he  took  his  seat.  As  a  legislator  for  his  native  state, 
he  soon  displayed  rare  energy  and  talent.  He  took  the  lead 
in  proposing  and  carrying  through  a  number  of  internal  im- 
provements of  great  importance,  and  strove  to  awaken  the 
Virginians  to  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  action  if  they  would 
act  fall  behind  the  people  of  Jhe  other  states  in  power  and 
prosperity.  Many  of  the  finest  public  works  in  the  state 
were  the  fruit  of  his  toil.  In  the  legislature,  his  reputation 
as  an  orator  and  statesman  was  fully  established. 


JOHN  TYLER.  309 

In  December,  1825,  Mr.  Tyler  was  elected  governor  of 
Virginia  by  a  large  majority.  His  administration  was  pros- 
perous and  beneficial.  Internal  improvements  still  engaged 
his  attention,  and  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  heal  sectional 
divisions,  and  awaken  the  people  to  their  true  interests.  In 
July,  1826,  he  delivered  an  eloquent  eulogy  on  the  death  of 
Thomas  Jefferson.  During  the  next  session  of  the  legislsi- 
lature,  Mr.  Tyler  was  re-elected  governor  of  Virginia. 

But  it  was  thought  that  the  talents  of  Mr.  Tyler  would 
be  advantageously  employed  in  the  national  field.  A  por- 
tion of  the  democratic  party  were  dissatisfied  with  the  course 
pursued  by  John  Randolph  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States. 
His  genius  and  principles  were  admitted  to  be  of  the  loftiest 
stamp,  but  his  eccentric  bearing  and  frequent  onslaught  upon 
democrats,  prevented  him  from  receiving  that  respect  and 
deference  that  is  usually  the  reward  of  dignified  manners. 
Governor  Tyler  was  the  only  man  who  possessed  sufficient 
popularity  to  succeed  against  Mr.  Randolph,  and  he  was  so- 
licited to  stand  as  a  candidate.  He  consented,  but  reluc- 
tantly and  after  much  persuasion.  Upon  the  first  ballot  in 
the  legislature,  he  received  one  hundred  and  fifteen  votes. 
and  John  Randolph  one  hundred  and  ten.  This  proof  of 
confidence  was  highly  gratifying  to  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Tyler. 
Their  selection  was  generally  sanctioned  by  the  Virginians. 

A  few  days  after  his  election  to  the  senate  of  the  United 
States,  Mr.  Tyler  sent  to  the  legislature  his  resignation  of 
the  office  of  governor.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  his 
message  on  this  occasion : 

"  The  principles  on  which  I  have  acted, without  abandon- 
ment, in  any  one  instance,  for  the  last  sixteen  years,  in  Con- 
gress and  in  the  legislative  hall  of  this  state,  will  be  the 
principles  by  which  I  will  regulate  my  future  political  life. 


310  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Keeping  them  constantly  in  view,  yielding  them  neither  tc 
the  force  of  circumstances  nor  to  the  suggestions  of  expe« 
diency,  and  thereby  seeking  to  promote  the  lasting  interests 
of  my  beloved  country,  if  I  do  not  acquire  the  indivi  lual 
confidence  of  Virginia,  I  shall  at  least  have  preserved  my 
own  consistency,  and  secured  the  peace  of  my  mind  through 
the  days  of  my  increasing  years,  and  in  the  hour  of  my  final 
dissolution." 

Upon  the  occasion  of  his  retirement  from  the  chief  magis- 
tracy of  the  state,  he  was  invited  to  a  public  dinner,  by  a 
large  number  of  the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  of  the 
citizens  of  Richmond.  In  answer  to  the  following  toast — 
"  John  Tyler  our  friend  and  guest — a  republican  too  firm  to 
be  driven  from  his  principles — too  upright  to  be  swerved  by 
the  laws  of  ambition  or  power" — Mr.  Tyler,  among  other 
remarks,  said : 

"  I  can  be  at  no  loss  to  ascribe  this  manifestation  of  public 
respect  to  its  proper  source.  It  flows  from  the  late  senatorial 
election,  and  the  incidents  connected  with  it.  I  place  upon 
it,  therefore,  the  highest  possible  value.  The  recesses  of 
my  heart  have  been  attempted  to  be  scanned  with  the  view 
of  detecting  some  lurking  wish  at  variance  with  my  public 
declarations.  Had  I  desired  a  change,  what  was  there  to 
have  prevented  me  from  openly  seeking  it  ?  Are  not  the 
offices  of  the  republic  equally  open  to  all  citizens  ?  When 
was  an  exclusive  monopoly  established?  or  when  was  it 
before  that '  Rome  contained  but  one  man'  ?  Virginia,  thank 
Heaven,  depends  on  no  one  of  her  citizens,  however  distin- 
guished by  talents,  for  her  character  or  standing.  £he  haa 
been  compared  to  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  andT  trust 
she  may  still  be  permitted  to  be  proud  of  her  sons.  For  one 
who  had  been  taught  in  early  infancy  that  golden  rule,  that, 


JOHN  TYLER.  311 

fiext'to  his  Creator,  his  first  duty  belonged  to  his  country, 
and  his  last  to  himself,  how  could  I  have  stood  acquitted, 
had  I  permitted  private  considerations  to  have  controlled  the 
obligations  of  public  duty  ?  By  accepting  the  appointment, 
while  I  interfered  with  the  pretensions  of  no  other  citizen, 
I  have  acquitted  myself  of  a  sacred  obligation." 

After  speaking  at  large  upon  the  administration,  and 
wkat  he" had  hoped  would  have  been  the  policy  of  Mr.  Adams, 
he  said  : 

"  Candor  requires  me  here  publicly  to  say,  that  his  first 
splendid  message  to  Congress  long  since  withered  all  my 
hopes.  I  saw  in  it  an  almost  total  disregard  of  the  fedeia- 
tive  principle — a  more  latitudinous  construction  of  the  con 
stitution  than  has  ever  before  been  insisted  on ;  lying  not 
BO  much  in  the  particular  measures  recommended — which, 
though  bad  enough,  had  some  excuse  in  precedent — as  in 
the  broad  and  general  principles  there  laid  down  as  the 
basis  of  governmental  duty.  From  the  moment  of  seeing 
that  message,  all  who  have  known  any  thing  of  me  have 
known  that  I  stood  distinctly  opposed  to  this  administration ; 
not  from  a  factious  spirit,  nor  with  a  view  to  elevate  a  favo- 
rite, or  to  advance  myself,  but  on  the  great  principles  which 
have  regulated  my  past  life.  I  honestly  believe  the  preser- 
vation of  the  federative  principles  of  our  government  to  be 
inseparably  connected  with  the  perpetuation  of  liberty."* 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Tyler  took  his  seat  in  the  senate,  he 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  opposition.  On  all  occasions  he  up- 
held the  doctrines  so  popular  in  Virginia,  concerning  the 
powers  of  the  general  government,  and  the  commercial  po- 
licy of  the  country.  When  General  Jackson  succeeded  Mr. 
Adams  in  the  presidential  chair,  Mr.  Tyler  supported  his 
*  Statesman's  Manual. 


312  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

administration  in  general,  but  on  certain  occasions,  pursued 
an  independent  course.  Where  the  President  acted  accord* 
ing  to  the  Jeffersonian  views  of  the  powers  of  the  general 
government,  he  was  ably  supported  by  Mr.  Tyler,  and 
most  of  the  southern  members.  They  opposed  the  re-charter- 
ing the  national  bank,  a  tariff  for  the  chief  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting home  industry,  and  a  national  system  of  internal 
improvements.  Mr.  Tyler's  speech  against  the  tariff,  was 
long,  earnest,  eloquent,  and  forcible.  He  sympathized  with 
Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  friends  upon  the  question  of  nullifica- 
tion, and  thereafter  withdrew  his  support  from  General 
Jackson's  administration,  on  the  ground  that  the  President 
had  abandoned  the  principles  of  Jefferson.  Mr.  Tyler's  is 
the  only  vote  recorded  in  opposition  to  the  force  bill.  The 
removal  of  the  deposites  excited  his  determined  resistance. 
He  considered  the  act  an  outrage  upon  the  laws.  Though 
anxious  for  the  destruction  of  the  national  banking  system, 
he  wished  it  to  die  by  law. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  re-elected  to  the  senate  of  the  United 
States  for  six  years  from  the  4th  of  March,  1833.  As  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  finance,  he  labored  with  zeal 
and  ability.  Having  made  a  voluminous  report  upon  the 
condition  and  affairs  of  the  United  States  Bank,  he  found 
it  furiously  attacked  by  Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri.  In  reply, 
Mr.  Tyler  made  a  speech  worthy  of  his  position  and  repu- 
tation. He  said, 

"  He  has  loudly  talked  of  the  committee  having  been 
made  an  instrument  of  by  the  bank.  For  myself,  I  re 
nounce  the  ascription.  I  must  tell  the  senatpr  that  I  can 
no  more  be  made  an  instrument  of  by  the  bank,  than  by  the 
Btill  greater  and  more  formidable  power,  the  administration. 
I  stand  upon  this  floor  to  accomplish  the  purposes  for  which 


JOHN  TYLER.  313 

1  am  sent.  In  the  consciousness  of  my  own  honesty,  I 
Btand  firm  and  erect.  I  worship  alone  at  the  shrine  of  truth 
and  honor.  It  is  a  precious  thing  in  the  eyes  of  some,  to 
bask  in  the  sunshine  of  power.  I  rest  only  upon  the  sup- 
port which  Las  never  failed  me — the  high  and  lofty  feelings 
of  my  constituents.  I  would  not  be  an  instrument  even  in 
their  hands,  if  it  were  possible  for  them  to  require  it  of  me, 
to  gratify  an  unrighteous  motive. 

"  The  committee,  in  their  investigations,  have  sought  for 
nothing  but  the  truth.  I  am  opposed — have  always  been 
opposed — to  the  bank.  In  its  creation  I  regard  the  consti- 
tution as  having  been  violated,  and  I  desire  to  see  it  expire 
But  the  senate  appointed  me,  with  others,  to  inquire  whether 
it  was  guilty  of  certain  charges,  and  I  should  regard  myself 
as  the  basest  of  mankind  were  I  to  charge  it  falsely.  The 
report  is  founded  on  unquestionable  documentary  evidence. 
I  shall  hold  myself  ready  to  answer  all  the  objections  which 
can  be  raised  against  it,  and  to  prove,  from  the  documents 
themselves,  that  the  report  is  made  with  the  utmost  fairness, 
and  the  most  scrupulous  regard  to  truth." 

In  March,  1835,  near  the  close  of  the  session,  Mr.  Tylei 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate,  pro  tempore,  by  the 
united  votes  of  the  whig  and  state-rights  senators.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1836,  the  legislature  of  Virginia  passed  resolutions 
instructing  senators  from  that  state  to  vote  for  a  resolution 
directing  the  resolution  of  March  28th,  1834,  censuring  the 
conduct  of  General  Jackson,  to  be  expunged  from  the  jour; 
nal  of  the  senate.  Mr.  Leigh,  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Tyler, 
refused  to  obey  or  resign  his  seat,  and  wrote  a  long  and 
able  letter  in  defence  of  his  course.  He  considered  the 
expunging  resolution  unconstitutional,  and  was  of  opinion 
that  the  legislature  had  no  right  to  instruct  him  to  sanction 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

a  violation  of  that  constitution  he  had  sworn  to  support 
Mr.  Tyler  took  a  different  course.  He  had  advocated  "  the 
right  of  instruction,"  while  in  the  legislature,  and  he  could 
not  no  nr  gainsay  that  right,  with  any  regard  for  truth  or 
consistency.  Yet  he  helieved  the  expunging  resolution  to 
be  unconstitutional,  and  that  he  could  not  violate  his  oath, 
as  a  senator  of  the  United  States.  To  resign  appeared  to 
nim  to  be  the  proper  course,  and  accordingly,  he  sent  in 
his  resignation,  with  a  letter  reviewing  the  political  principles 
which  had  guided  his  life. 

On  retiring  to  his  estate  and  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
Mr.  Tyler  carried  with  him  the  good  wishes  of  the  majority 
in  Virginia,  and  throughout  the  union.  His  course  was 
considered  that  of  a  true  and  firm  Jeffersonian.  A  public 
dinner  was  tendered  Mr.  Leigh  and  himself,  and  compli- 
ments were  showered  upon  them  both.  In  1830,  Mr.  Tyler 
had  removed  from  Charles  City  county  to  Gloucester,  where 
his  family  resided  until  1835.  He  then  returned  to  Wil- 
liamsburg,  and  devoted  himself  to  private  pursuits. 

In  the  same  year,  Mr.  Tyler  was  nominated  in  Maryland 
for  the  Vice  Presidency,  and  was  placed  upon  the  same 
ticket  with  General  Harrison.  He  was  not  considered  the 
whig  candidate  for  that  office,  however.  The  state-rights 
\>arty  in  the  south  generally  supported  him.  At  the  elec- 
tion in  1836,  he  received  forty-seven  electoral  votes.  In  the 
spring  of  1838,  Mr.  Tyler  was  elected  by  the  whigs  of  James 
City  county,  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates  of  Virginia, 
and  during  the  subsequent  session  of  the  legislature,  he 
&cted  with  the  whig  party,  under  which  name  the  different 
sections  of  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration 
were  amalgamated. 

A  nobler,  but  a  more  doubtfully  acted,  part  was  now  to 


JOHN  TYLER.  315 

be  performed  by  Mr.  Tyler.  In  1839,  he  was  elected  one 
of  the  delegates  from  Virginia  to  the  whig  national  conven- 
tion, which  met  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  to  nominate 
candidates  for  President  and  Vice  President  of  the  United 
States.  In  common  with  nearly  all  the  southern  delegates, 
he  preferred  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  Being  chosen  one 
of  the  vice  presidents  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Tyler  exerted 
himself  to  procure  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Clay.  But  Gene- 
ral Harrison  obtained  a  majority  of  votes.  To  conciliate 
the  irritated  friends  of  the  Kentucky  statesmen,  the  con- 
vention then  nominated  Mr.  Tyler  for  the  Vice  Presidency, 
and  he  consented  to  stand  as  a  candidate.  The  acceptance 
of  a  nomination  from  a  party  with  whom  he  did  not  entirely 
agree  in  opinion  was  a  questionable  course  of  action.  But 
it  is  urged  by  Mr.  Tyler's  friends,  that  when  he  consented 
to  stand  as  the  candidate  for  the  whigs,  he  did  not  believe 
that  he  would  be  required  to  give  his  influence  to  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  national  bank,  and  that  such  a  course  could 
not  have  been  expected  by  any  one  who  was  acquainted  with 
his  previous  political  career.  Probably,  the  convention 
acted  with  as  little  discretion  in  making  the  nomination  as 
Mr.  Tyler  did  in  accepting  it.  No  man  should  be  nominated 
for  the  Vice  Presidency  who  cannot  be  trusted  with  the 
Presidency.  The  speeches,  letters,  and  declarations  of  Mr. 
Tyler,  during  the  canvass  of  1840,  were  satisfactory  to  the 
whigs,  who  interpreted  them  to  assist  their  expectations 
The  party  was  triumphant.  Harrison  and  Tyler  were  elected 
by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  both  Houses  of  Congress 
were  of  the  whig  complexion. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  Mr.  Tyler  was  inaugurated 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  and  one  month  after 
wards,  by  the  death  of  General  Harrison,  he  became  Presi- 


316  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

dent,  Mr.  Tyler  was  at  his  residence  in  Virginia,  w 
the  news  of  the  death  of  the  President  was  announced  to 
him.  He  immediately  hurried  to  Washington,  arriving  on 
the  morning  of  the  6th  of  April.  The  members  of  the 
cabinet  waited  on  him,  and  he  informed  them  that  he  wished 
them  to  retain  their  posts.  He  then  took  the  oath  of  office. 
On  the  following  day,  he  attended  the  funeral  of  President 
Harrison.  After  the  solemnities  were  concluded,  he  issued 
an  address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  an  informal 
inaugural  document,  setting  forth  the  principles  which  should 
guide  his  administration.  The  retention  of  the  cabinet  and 
the  tone  and  sentiments  of  the  inaugural  address  inspired 
the  whigs  with  confidence. 

An  extra  session  of  congress  had  been  convened  by  Pre- 
sident Harrison.  In  this  measure,  Mr.  Tyler  concurred. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  recommend  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  on  ac- 
count of  their  recent  bereavement.  The  removals  and 
appointments  made  by  the  new  chief  magistrate  were  satis- 
factory to  the  whigs.  When  Congress  assembled  upon  the 
31st  of  May,  1841,  it  was  debated  in  the  house,  whether 
Mr.  Tyler  should  be  addressed  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  or  as  Vice  President,  acting  as  President,  and  de- 
cided in  favor  of  the  first  form.  The  message  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  well  received.  The  veto  of  the  national  bank  was 
the  great  feature  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administration. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr. 
Ewing  made  a  report,  and  with  it  sent  a  bill  for  the  incorpo- 
ration of  "  the  fiscal  bank  of  the  United  States."  This  plan 
for  a  bank  was  free  from  all  the  objectionable  features  of  the 
former  fiscal  institutions,  and  was  supposed  to  have  the  ap- 
probation of  the  President.  A  bill  similar  in  substance  was 


JOHN  TYLER.  317 

introduced  in  Congress,  and  finally  passed  on  the  6th  of 
August,  and  sent  to  the  President  for  his  decision.  The 
President  retained  the  bill  until  the  16th  of  August,  and  then 
returned  it  to  the  senate  in  which  it  originated,  with  his  veto 
message.  This  bewildered  the  whigs.  Their  leaders  remon 
strated  with  the  President,  and  sought  to  repair  the  evil 
effects  which  threatened  the  party  with  dissolution.  They 
had  yet  a  hope.  In  his  veto  message  he  shadowed  out  the  plan 
of  a  bank  which  he  said  had  long  been  endeared  to  him,  that 
of  a  fiscal  agent  devested  of  the  discounting  power  and  limited 
to  dealing  in  bills  of  national  exchange.  By  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember, a  bill,  establishing  a  bank  of  this  character,  passed 
Congress  and  was  presented  to  the  President.  On  the  9th, 
he  returned  it  to  the  house  of  representatives,  with  his  objec- 
tions. The  following  day  it  was  taken  up  in  the  house,  but 
was  lost,  two-thirds  not  voting  for  it. 

The  reasons  which  induced  President  Tyler  to  veto  the 
last  bank  bill  were  not  of  a  nature  to  satisfy  the  whigs  that 
he  had  acted  with  any  degree  of  sincerity.  It  is  now  certain 
thai  the  disclosure  of  an  intention  upon  the  part  of  a  member 
of  the  ruling  party  to  circumvent  the  man  whom  they  had 
elected  to  office  had  much  influence  in  determining  his  course. 
A  letter  from  John  M.  Botts,  an  eminent  whig  of  Virginia, 
which  contained  expressions  of  a  resolution  to  "head"  the 
President  was  published  in  the  administration  organ,  the 
Madisonian.  How  could  it  be  expected  that  Mr.  Tyler  should 
favor  the  schemes  of  a  party  which  treated  him  in  such  a 
manner.  Still,  this  disclosure  would  not  justify  the  veto  of 
a  great  public  measure.  The  President  brought  forward 
constitutional  objections  to  the  bill  to  support  his  course. 

The  veto  was  received  by  the  opposition  with  exultation. 
They  applauded  Mr.  Tyler's  independence,  though  they  did 


318  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS, 

not  give  him  any  reason  to  hope  that  he  would  become  the 
head  of  the  democratic  party  and  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  great  body  of  the  whigs  throughout 
the  country  were  indignant,  and  denounced  the  President  as 
a  recreant.  On  the  llth  of  September,  all  the  members  of 
the  cabinet,  except  Mr.  Webster,  feeling  that  all  confidence 
between  the  President  and  themselves  was  at  an  end,  resigned. 
Mr.  Webster  concluded  to  remain  in  the  cabinet,  believing 
that  he  could  harmonize  with  Mr.  Tyler  upon  the  subject  of 
foreign  relations,  arid  that  differences  upon  the  questions  of 
revenue  ought  not  to  disturb  their  relations. 

On  the  llth  of  September,  the  whig  members  of  Congress 
held  a  meeting,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  three  senators 
and  five  members  of  the  house,  to  prepare  an  address  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  concerning  the  measures  which 
had  been  adopted  and  those  which  had  failed  at  the  extra 
session,  with  such  other  matters  as  might  exhibit  the  condi- 
tion and  prospects  of  the  whig  party.  The  address  which 
was  adopted  proclaimed  that  all  political  alliance  between 
the  whigs  and  Mr.  Tyler  was  at  an  end  and  set  forth  the 
reasons  of  the  state  of  things. 

During  the  extra  session,  a  protective  tariff  bill,  a  bill  for 
the  appropriation  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  public  lands, 
and  a  uniform  bankrupt  law,  passed  Congress  and  received 
the  sanction  of  the  President.  Mr.  Tyler  had  previously 
been  opposed  to  the  protective  tariff.  That  he  LOW  approved 
one  gave  rise  to  considerable  speculation  in  regard  to  his 
real  views. 

It  was  expected  the  new  cabinet  would  be  formed  out  of 
the  democratic  ranks.  But  the  President  appointed  the  fol- 
low ing  distinguished  whigs  and  conservatives  to  office  Walter 
Forward,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  John 


JOHN  TYLER.  319 

McLean,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  War ;  Abel  P.  Upshur,  of 
Virginia,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  of 
Kentucky,  Postmaster-General ;  Hugh  S.  Legare,  of  South 
Carolina,  Attorney-General.  These  nominations  were  all 
confirmed  by  the  senate  previous  to  the  termination  of  the 
extra  session.  Judge  McLean  declined  to  resign  his  seat  on 
the  bench  of  the  supreme  court,  and  John  C.  Spencer  was 
then  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  war  department. 

In  the  next  congressional  session,  the  President  found  that 
he  could  not  count  upon  the  support  of  either  party.  Mr. 
Rives,  in  the  senate,  and  four  or  five  whigs  in  the  house  were 
his  only  reliable  friends.  The  hopes  of  forming  a  third  party 
were  shown  to  be  fruitless  and  vain.  In  1842,  an  important 
treaty  was  negotiated  at  Washington,  by  Secretary  Webster, 
and  Lord  Ashburton,  a  special  minister  from  Great  Britain, 
settling  the  north-eastern  boundary  question,  providing  for 
the  final  suppression  of  the  African  slave  trade,  and  for  the 
surrender  of  fugitives  from  justice,  in  certain  cases.  By 
this  treaty,  the  greatest  good  feeling  was  restored  between 
the  two  nations. 

The  28th  Congress  commenced  its  first  session  on  the 
4th  of  December,  1843,  and  adjourned  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1844.  There  was  a  large  democratic  majority  in  the  house 
of  representatives.  The  whigs  had  a  majority  in  the  senate. 
In  consequence  of  the  disagreement  between  the  two  houses, 
but  few  acts  of  general  interest  were  passed  this  session.  In 
March,  1843,  Mr.  Forward  resigned  the  post  of  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  John  C.  Spencer  was  transferred  from 
the  war  department  to  that  of  the  treasury.  Caleb  Gushing 
had  been  previously  nominated  to  the  treasury  department, 
but  had  been  rejected  by  the  senate.  Mr.  Webster  resigned 
the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  in  May,  1843,  arid  Hugh  S 


320 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


Legare,  Attorney  General  was  appointed  in  his  place.  But 
the  latter  gentleman  soon  after  died  at  Boston.  In  July, 
1843,  the  President  re-organized  his  cabinet,  as  follows . 
Abel  P.  Upshur,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  State ;  John  C. 
Spencer,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  James 
M.  Porter,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  War;  David  Hen- 
shaw,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  Charles  A. 
Wickliffe,  of  Kentucky,  Postmaster  General ;  John  Nelson, 
of  Maryland,  Attorney  General.  At  the  next  session,  the 
senate  rejected  the  nomination  of  Messrs.  Porter  and  Hen- 
shaw.  The  President  then  nominated  William  Wilkins,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  War ;  and  Thomas  W.  Gilmer, 
of  Virginia,  for  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  they  were  con- 
firmed by  the  senate.  But  the  cabinet  was  destined  to 
further  shifts  and  changes.  By  the  explosion  of  one  of  the 
large  gnns  of  the  steamship  Princeton,  on  the  Potomac,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Upshur,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  Mr.  Gilmer,  lost  their  lives.  In  consequence  of  this 
catastrophe,  and  of  the  difficulty  of  choosing  successors  to 
the  unfortunate  ministers,  Attorney  General  Nelson  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  Commodore 
Warrington  officiated  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  ad  interim. 
Finally,  the  President  appointed  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South 
Carolina,  Secretary  of  State,  and  John  Y.  Mason,  of  Vir- 
ginia, Secretary  of  the  Navy;  both  of  these  nominations 
were  confirmed  by  the  senate.  In  May,  1844,  Mr.  Spencer 
resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  George 
M.  Bibb,  of  Kentucky,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

The  negotiation  of  a  valuable  treaty  with  China,  by  Caleb 
Gushing,  Esq.  in  1843,  the  commissioner  to  that  country, 
and  the  Texas  annexation  treaty,  negotiated  at  Washington. 
April  12th,  1844,  by  Secretary  Calhoun,  on  the  part  of  the 


JOHN  TYLER.  321 

United  States,  and  Messrs.  Van  Zandt  and  Henderson,  on 
the  part  of  Texas,  were  the  most  important  events  of  the 
remainder  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administration.  The  senate  con- 
firmed the  treaty  with  China,  but  rejected  the  annexation 
Bcheme.  It  was  evident,  however,  that  the  Texas  question 
would  enter  into  the  next  presidential  election,  and  Mr. 
Tyler's  friends  strove  to  make  it  the  stepping  stone  for  his 
accession  to  a  second  term. 

The  national  conventions  of  the  great  political  parties 
were  held  in  Baltimore,  in  May,  1844.  Henry  Clay,  of 
Kentucky,  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey, 
were  chosen  by  the  whigs  as  their  candidates  for  the  two 
highest  offices  in  the  nation.  Mr.  Clay  was  nominated  by 
the  most  enthusiastic  acclamations.  In  the  democratic  con- 
vention, Mr.  Van  Buren  had  a  plurality  of  votes ;  but  he 
was  opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  it  had  been 
determined  by  the  democratic  party  that  the  candidate  must 
favor  the  scheme.  Two  thirds  of  the  votes  were  required 
to  make  a  nomination,  and  these,  Mr.  Van  Buren  could  not 
obtain.  At  length,  after  eight  ballotings,  James  K.  Polk, 
of  Tennessee,  received  the  nomination.  Silas  Wright,  of 
New  York,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice  Presidency,  but  he 
declined,  and  George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pennsylvania,  \vas  then 
nominated  in  his  stead.  A  convention  of  Mr.  Tyler's  friends 
was  held  in  Baltimore,  about  the  same  time,  and  he  was 
placed  before  the  people  as  a  candidate  for  re-election.  But 
in  August,  Mr.  Tyler  yielded  to  the  persuasions  of  the  de- 
mocrats and  threw  his  influence  into  the  scale  in  favor  of 
Messrs.  Polk  and  Dallas.  Those  gentlemen  were  elected 
after  a  very  exciting  contest. 

Joint  resolutions,  annexing  Texas  to  the  Union,  passed 
Congress  on  the  1st  March,  1845,  and  were  approved  by 


322  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

President  Tyler.  The  administration  ended  on  the  3d 
of  March.  Mr.  Tyler's  last  act  was  what  is  called  "  the 
pocket  veto,"  which  he  exercised  by  retaining  the  river 
and  harbor  appropriation  bill  over  the  time  specified  by 
the  constitution.  Mr.  Tyler  generally  surrounded  him- 
self with  able  advisers,  and  his  government  was  vigorous 
and  decided.  But  he  retired  from  office  without  the  re- 
gret of  either  party..  Indeed,  he  has  ever  since  received 
the  most  bitter  denunciations  from  the  whigs.  He  was 
accused  not  only  of  a  want  of  judgment,  but  of  a  want 
of  good  faith.  That  he  was  a  determined  man,  the  whigs 
were  forced  to  concede,  when  they  considered  his  resist- 
ance to  an  able  cabinet  and  a  large  party  in  power ;  and 
before  he  became  President  his  intellectual  excellencies 
were  generally  admitted. 

In  person  Mr.  Tyler  was  rather  tall  and  thin,  with  a 
light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  high  forehead  and  promi- 
nent nose.  In  1813,  Mr.  Tyler,  when  twenty-three 
years  old,  married  Miss  Letitia  Christian,  of  Kent  county, 
Virginia.  This  amiable  and  accomplished  lad}'-  died  at 
Washington,  in  September,  1842,  leaving  three  sons  and 
three  daughters.  On  the  26th  of  June,  1844,  Mr.  Tyler 
was  again  married,  to  Miss  Julia  Gardiner,  of  New  York, 
a  "daughter  of  Mr.  David  Gardiner,  who  was  killed  by  an 
explosion  on  board  the  steamship  Princeton.  The  lady 
was  young,  beautiful,  and  wealthy.  After  his  retire- 
ment from  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Tyler  resided  at  his  seat 
near  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
society  of  his  friends.  He  was  president  of  the  Peace 
Congress  which  met  in  Washington  in  1861,  and  after- 
wards became  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 
He  died  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  January,  1862. 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK. 

THE  persons  who  were  elevated  to  the  presidential  chair 
in  the  early  days  of  the  republic  were  long  before  the  people 
and  were  long  mentioned  in  connection  with  that  high  office 
ere  they  were  brought  forward  as  regular  candidates.  Their 
powers  and  acquirements  were  generally  known,  though  dif- 
ferently estimated.  When  they  were  presented  as  candidates, 
nobody  was  surprised,  and  nobody  was  doubtful  as  to  their 
qualifications  and  the  character  of  their  policy.  These  persona 
had  either  passed  through  a  regular  gradation  of  offices  or 
were  known  for  some  particular  service  done  for  the  country, 
either  in  the  field  or  in  the  council.  Latterly,  however, 
there  has  been  evinced  a  different  state  of  affairs.  Parties, 
more  anxious  for  systems  and  measures  than  men  have  been 
satisfied  to  place  in  nomination  persons  who,  although  with- 
out great  administrative  genius  or  a  very  extensive  experi- 
ence in  state  affairs  have  fixed  political  principles,  strong 
practical  sense  and  an  honest  determination.  The  history 
of  the  world  has  satisfied  the  people,  that  though  genius  ia 
of  much  value,  the  pure  and  patriotic  will  should  be  ranked 
above  it,  and — a  still  higher  truth — that  men  are  frail — in- 
stitutions, certain  and  reliable.  The  nomination  of  James 
K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  for  the  Presidency,-  surprised  the 

323 


324  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

great  body  of  the  democratic  party.  Even  those  who  were 
acquainted  with  his  talents  and  acquirements  had  not  looked 
for  such  a  consummation.  His  opponents  delighted  to  in- 
quire— "  Who  is  James  K.  Polk  ?  "  But  the  election  proved 
that  the  whole  democratic  party  could  rally  to  the  support 
of  a  man,  who,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  would  carry  into 
effect  democratic  measures. 

The  name  Polk  is  a  corruption  of  Pollock,  originally  Scotch, 
and  corrupted  in  Ireland.  The  founder  of  the  Polk  family 
in  America  was  Robert  Polk,  who  emigrated  from  Ireland 
to  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  between  1735  and  1740. 
Some  of  his  descendants  are  still  to  be  found  in  that  state. 
Other  members  of  the  family,  including  Thomas,  Ezekiel  and 
Charles  Polk,  followed  the  current  of  emigration  which  swept 
onward  to  the  base  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  located  tempo- 
rarily in  the  neighborhood  of  Carlisle,  in  Pennsylvania. 
Thence,  the  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Ezekiel  and  Charles, 
removed  to  the  south-western  frontier  of  North  Carolina, 
about  1750,  and  settled  in  the  county  of  Mecklenburg,  then 
a  part  of  Anson  county.  Ezekiel  subsequently  changed  his 
residence  to  South  Carolina.  Thomas,  who,  as  the  eldest 
was  considered  the  head  of  the  family,  has  the  credit  of  the 
principal  agency  in  bringing  about  the  famous  Mecklenburg 
Declaration  of  Independence,  which  preceded  the  one  issued 
at  Philadelphia  by  more  than  a  year.  It  is  certain,  that  both 
he  and  Ezekiel  were  staunch  and  resolute  patriots  in  the 
revolution. 

James  Knox  Polk  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county, 
North  Carolina,  on  the  2d  day  of  November,  1795,  and  was 
the_oldest  of  ten  children.  His  father  was  Samuel  Polk, 
a  son  of  Ezekiel  Polk.  His  mother  was  Jane  Knox,  the 
daughter  of  James  Knox,  after  whom  her  eldest  son  was 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  325 

named ,  a  resident  of  Iredell  county,  North  Carolina,  and  a 
captain  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

Samuel  Polk,  the  father,  was  a  plain,  unpretending 
farmer,  but  of  enterprising  character ;  from  necessity  and 
inclination,  frugal  in  his  habits  and  style  of  living,  yet  kin;l 
and  generous  in  disposition.  '  Thrown  upon  his  own  resources 
in  early  life,  he  became  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes.' 
Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  a  strong  tide 
of  emigration  set  in  from  Mecklenburg  and  the  adjoining 
counties,  and  flowing  over  the  mountains,  rolled  d^wn  upon 
the  ranges  of  grassy  hills,  the  undulating  plains,  the  exten- 
sive reaches  of  grazing  land,  and  the  fertile  valleys  of  Ten- 
nessee. Attracted  by  the  glowing  accounts,  given  by  the 
first  seltlers  and  adventurers,  of  the  beautiful  daughter  of  his 
native  state,  Samuel  Polk  formed  a  determination  to  remove 
thither  with  his  family ;  and  if  honesty  of  purpose,  enterprise 
and  industry,  could  accomplish  that  end,  to  achieve  a  com- 
petence for  himself,  and  those  who  looked  up  to  him  for 
support  and  protection. 

From  one  cause  or  another  the  fulfilment  of  his  design 
was  postponed  till  the  autumn  of  the  year  1806,  when,  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  and  children,  he  followed  the  path  of 
emigration  to  the  rich  valley  of  the  Duck  river,  one  of  the 
principal  tributaries  of  the  Tennessee.  Here,  in  the  midst 
of  the  wilderness,  in  a  tract  of  country  erected  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  into  the  county  of  Maury,  he  established  his 
new  home.  His  example  was  imitated  by  all  the  Polk  family 
n  North  Carolina,  who,  with  the  exception  of  one  branch, 
emigrated,  and  cast  their  lot  in  with  the  bold  spirits  that 
ought  a  home  in  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi.' 

Having  purchased  a  quantity  of  land,  Samuel  Polk  em- 
ployed himself  in  its  cultivation  ;  following  at  intervals,  the 


326  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

occupation  of  a  surveyor.  By  dint  of  patient  industry  and 
economy,  and  by  his  untiring  and  energetic  perseverance, 
he  acquired  a  fortune  equal  to  his  wishes  and  his  wants.  He 
lived  to  b<ihold  the  country  around  him  become  flourishing 
and  prosperous ;  to  see  its  dark  forests  pass  away  like  some 
vision  of  enchantment,  and  its  broad  plains  and  valleys 
blooming  with  fruits  and  flowers,  and  teeming  with  the  luxu- 
riant produce  of  a  fertile  soil.  Respected  as  one  of  the  first 
pioneers  of  Maury,  and  esteemed  as  a  useful  citizen  and  an 
estimable  man,  he  finally  closed  his  life  at  Columbia,  in  1827. 
His  wife,  a  most  excellent  and  pious  woman,  afterwards 
married  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Eden,  and  is  now  living 
at  Columbia.  Her  son,  James,  passed  his  boyhood  in  the 
humble  position  in  life  which  his  parents  occupied.  The 
lessons  that  he  learned  in  this  school  were  never  forgotten. 
He  was  by  no  means  a  stranger  to  what, — unless,  as  in  his 
case,  accompanied  by  a  happy  and  contented  heart, — is  the 
drudgery  of  daily  toil.  He  assisted  his  father  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  farm,  and  was  his  almost  constant  companion 
in  his  surveying  excursions.  They  were  frequently  absent 
for  weeks  together,  treading  the  dense  forests  and  traversing 
the  rough  cane-breaks  which  then  covered  the  face  of  the 

O 

country,  and  exposed  to  all  the  changes  of  the  weather,  and 
the  dangers  and  vicissitudes  of  a  life  in  the  woods.  On  these 
occasions,  it  was  the  duty  of  James  to  take  care  of  the  pack- 
horses  and  camp  equipage,  and  to  prepare  the  scanty  and 
frugal  meals  of  the  surveying  party.  When  a  lad,  he  was 
strongly  inclined  to  study,  and  often  busied  himself  with  the 
mathematical  calculations  of  his  father.  He  was  very  fond 
of  reading,  and  was  of  a  reflective  turn  of  mind. 

"  In  the  infancy  of  the  state  of  Tennessee,  as  is  always 
the  case  in  new  settlements,  the  opportunities  of  instruction 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  327 

were  quite  limited.  The  father  of  young  Polk  was  not  in 
affluent  circumstances,  though,  able  to  give  all  his  children 
a  good  education.  He  regarded  with  favor  the  natural  bent 
of  his  son's  mind  toward  study,  and  kept  him  pretty  con- 
stantly at  school.  Though  afflicted  for  many  years  by  a 
painful  affection,  from  which  he  was  only  relieved  by  a  sur- 
gical operation,  James  had  been  completely  successful  in 
mastering  the  English  studies  usually  taught,  when  his  health 
began  to  give  way.  Fearing  that  his  constitution  had  become 
so  much  weakened  as  to  unfit  him  altogether  for  a  sedentary 
life,  his  father,  not  without  many  an  earnest  remonstrance 
from  his  son,  placed  him  with  a  merchant,  with  the  view  of 
fitting  him  for  commercial  pursuits. 

"After  remaining  a  few  weeks  with  the  merchant,  James 
obtained  the  permission  of  his  father,  by  much  entreaty  and 
persuasion,  to  return  home  ;  and  in  the  month  of  July,  1818, 
he  was  placed  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henderson 
Subsequently  he  was  sent  to  the  Murfreesborough  Academy, 
then  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Black, 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  classical  teachers  in  Middle  Ten- 
nessee. Henceforward  there  were  no  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  his  obtaining  the  education  he  so  ardently  desired.  In 
less  than  two  years  and  a  half  he  prepared  himself  thoroughly 
for  an  advanced  class  in  college  ;  and  in  the  autumn  of  1815, 
being  then  in  his  twentieth  year,  he  entered  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel  Hill,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sophomore  year.  This  venerable  institution,  at  which  so 
many  of  the  most  distinguished  statesmen,  and  the  most  emi- 
nent divines,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  union,  have  been 
educated,  was  then  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev. 'Dr.  Joseph 
Caldwell,  'justly  styled  the  father  of  the  Univsrsity.'  Co- 
lonel William  Polk,  late  of  Raleigh,  and  the  first  cousin  of 


328  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

the  father  of  President  Polk,  was  also  one  of  the  most  in 
fluential  and  active  of  the  trustees,  and  had  been  such  from 
about  the  time  of  the  first  establishment  of  the  institution. 

At  the  University,  Mr.  Polk  was  most  exemplary  in  the 
performance  of  all  his  duties,  not  only  as  a  member  of  col- 
lege, but  also  of  the  literary  society  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  was  punctual  and  prompt  in  every  exercise,  and  never 
absent  from  recitation  or  any  of  the  religious  services  of  the 
institution. 

Of  the  exact  sciences  he  was  fond,  and  he  was  also  an 
able  linguist.  At  each  semi-annual  examination  he  bore  away 
the  highest  honors,  and  at  the  close  of  the  junior  year  the 
first  distinction  was  awarded  to  him  and  Ex-Governor  Wil- 
liam D.  Mosely,  of  Florida.  He  graduated  in  June,  1818, 
with  the  highest  distinction,  which  was  assigned  to  him  alone, 
as  the  best  scholar  in  both  the  mathematics  and  the  classics, 
and  delivered  the  Latin  Salutatory  Oration. 

Mr.  Polk  did  not  forget  his  Alma  Mater  amid  the  busy 
scenes,  the  turmoil  and  confusion,  of  his  active  life ;  nor 
did  she  lose  sight  of  one  who  reflected  so  much  credit  upon 
her,  in  every  station  that  he  filled.  He  often  revisited  her 
shrine,  and  attended  the  pleasant  re-unions  of  the  mother 
and  her  sons ;  and  at  the  annual  commencement,  in  June, 
1847,  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred 
upon  him,  together  with  John  Y.  Mason,  late  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  of  the  class  of  1816,  and  Willie  P.  Mangum,  of 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1815. 

When  Mr.  Polk  left  the  university,  his  health  was  con 
siderably  impaired  by  constant  and  unremitting  application 
to  his  studies.  But  a  few  months  of  relaxation  and  respite 
from  study,  were  sufficient  fuJly  to  restore  him ;  and  the 


JAMIS  KNOX  POLK.  329 

choice  of  a  profession  was  then  to  be  considered  and  decided. 
This  was  not  at  all  difficult.  His  thoughts  had  long  been 
directed  toward  the  law,  and  each  succeeding  year  had 
served  to  confirm  and  strengthen  the  desire  which  he  had 
half  formed  ere  the  time  came  for  serious  reflection.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1819,  he  entered  the  office  of  Felix 
Grundy,  at  Nashville.  Mr.  Grundy  was  then  in  the  zenith 
of  his  fame — at  the  head  of  the  Tennessee  bar — enjoying 
the  professional  honors  and  rewards  which  continued  to  flow 
liberally  upon  him — and  with  the  laurels  he  had  won  on  the 
floor  of  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  United  States  in 
defence  of  the  war  measures  of  President  Madison,  blooming 
freshly  on  his  brow.  In  him  Mr.  Polk  found  a  legal  preceptor 
whose  rich  stores  of  learning  were  freely  opened  to  his  benefit. 
Beside  being  the  favorite  student  of  Mr.  Grundy,  it  waa 
the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Polk,  during  his  residence  at  Nash 
ville,  to  attract  the  attention  and  win  the  esteem  of  one  who 
bound  his  friends  to  him  with  hooks  of  adamant,  and  whose 
favor  could  not  be  too  highly  prized  ;  of  one  whose  influence 
over  him,  powerful  though  it  was,  was  at  all  times  voluntarily 
and  cheerfully  acknowledged ;  of  Andrew  Jackson,  the  gallant 
defender  of  New  Orleans,  already  occupying  a  proud  position 
among  the  great  men  of  the  nation.  Both  preceptor  and  pupil 
were  ever  welcome  guests  at  the  Hermitage ;  both  contributed 
in  after  years,  to  the  elevation  of  its  occupant  to  the  highest 
station  in  the  land,  and,  the  one  in  the  senate,  and  the  other 
in  the  house,  sustained  and  defended  his  administration 
against  whomsoever  assailed  it,  in  storm  and  in  sunshine, 
from  its  commencement  t^  its  close.  General  Jackson  wag 
al  ways  warmly  attached  to  Mr.  Polk ;  he  looked  upon  him 
in  the  light  of  a  protegee,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  his 
political  advancement. 


330  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Within-  two  years  from  the  time  he  entered  the  office  of 
Mi1.  Grundy,  Mr.  Polk  made  sufficient  progress  in  his  legal 
studies  to  entitle  him  to  an  examination,  and  near  the  close 
of  1820,  he  was  regularly  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  now 
returned  to  Manry  county,  and  established  himself  in  prac« 
tice  at  Columbia,  among  the  companions  of  his  boyhood, 
who  had  grown  up  with  him  to  man's  estate, — among  those 
who  had  known  and  esteemed  him  from  his  earliest  years. 
His  advantages  were  great,  in  consequence  of  the  connec- 
tion of  his  family,  by  the  ties  of  blood  or  friendship,  with 
most  of  the  old  inhabitants  and  their  descendants.  His 
success,  therefore,  was  equal  to  his  fondest  hopes. 

Mr.  Polk  remained  at  the  bar,  it  may  be  said,  up  to  the 
time  of  his  election  as  Governor  of  Tennessee,  but  for  seve- 
ral years  he  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  laborious 
duties  of  his  calling,  constantly  adding  to  his  practice  and 
his  reputation,  and  annually  reaping  a  rich  harvest  of  pro- 
fessional emoluments.  Though  "  there  were  giants  in  the 
land,"  he  stood  in  the  front  rank  among  his  cotemporaries. 
During  some  portion  of  this  period  he  was  associated  with 
other  practitioners  in  business,  and  at  other  times  he  was 
alone.  Among  his  law  partners  were  Ansoh  V.  Brown, 
of  Pulaski,  for  some  years  a  representative  in  Congress  from 
the  sixth  district  (Tennessee)  and  governor  of  the  state  from 
1845  to  1847,  and  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  a  major-general  in  the 
army  during  the  war  with  Mexico. 

The  father  of  the  late  President  belonged  to  the  Jeffei  • 
sonian  school  of  politics ;  he  supported  its  founder  in  the 
great  contest  of  1800,  and  up  to  the  close  of  his  life  was  the 
6rm  and  consistent  advocate  of  democratic  principles.  The 
associations  of  Mr.  Polk  himself,  in  early  life,  and  while  he 
was  reading  law,  naturally  inclined  him  to  adopt  the  same 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  331 

opinions ;  but  the  convictions  of  his  matured  judgment  a" 
corded  with  and  approved  them. 

It  is  rarely  the  case,  in  this  country,  that  the  politician 
and  lawyers  are  not  united  in  one  and  the  same  person  ;  and 
Mr.  Polk  was  not  an  exception  to  this  general  rule.  As  soon 
as  he  became  a  voter  he  attached  himself  to  the  democratic 
party,  and  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  was  an  active  par- 
ticipant in  the  political  contests' of  that  day.  His  style  and 
manner  as  a  public  speaker  were  calculated  to  win  the  favor 
of  a  popular  assembly,  and  he  was  often  sent  for  many  miles 
from  his  home  to  address  the  meetings  of  his  party  friends. 
Elis  reputation  in  this  respect  was  extensive. 

Possessing  all  the  advantages  of  mind  and  disposition  so 
necessary  to  success  in  an  aspirant  for  political  honors ;  rooted 
in  the  affections  of  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends ;  the 
hope  of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged,  he  entered  public 
life  at  an  early  age.  His  first  employment  in  this  character 
was  that  of  chief  clerk  to  the  house  of  representatives  of  the 
Tennessee  legislature ;  and  in  the  summer  of  1823,  in  accord- 
ance not  more  with  his  own  desire  than  with  the  wishes  of 
his  friends,  he  took  the  stump  against  the  former  member  of 
that  body  from  Maury.  A  most  formidable  opposition  was 
encountered,  but  after  an  animated  canvass  he  secured  his 
election  by  a  heavy  majority. 

He  remained  in  the  legislature  for  two  successive  years, 
being  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  talented  and  promising 
members.  Most  of  the  measures  of  the  then  President,  Mr. 
Monroe,  received  his  unqualified  support  and  approbation, 
and  he  was  ardently  desirous  that  the  successor  of  the  former 
should  be  one  who  had  no  sympathy  for  the  latitudinarian 
doctrines  with  reference  to  the  constitution  which  appeared 
to  be  gaining  ground.  Animated  by  this  motive,  he  approved 


332  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

of  the  nomination  of  Andrew  Jackson  for  the  Presidency, 
made  by  the  Tennessee  legislature  in  August,  1822  ;  and  in 
the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  he  contributed  by  his  in- 
fluence and  vote  to  the  election  of  his  distinguished  friend  to 
the  senate  of  the  United  States. 

While  a  member  of  the  general  assembly,  Mr.  Polk 
succeeded  in  procuring  the  passage  of  a  law  designed  to  pre- 
vent duelling.  Though  residing  in  a  section  of  the  union 
where  this  mode  of  vindicating  one's  honor  when  assailed 
haa  ever  been  sustained  by  the  general  sense  of  the  commu- 
nity, oftentimes  in  opposition  to  positive  enactments,  he  was 
never  concerned  in  a  duel,  during  his  whole  life,  either  as 
principal  or  second.  This  was  the  more  remarkable,  be- 
cause of  the  many  stormy  epochs  in  his  political  career. 
His  aversion  to  duelling  did  not  proceed  from  constitutional 
timidity  ;  he  was  utterly  opposed  to  the  practice,  from  prin- 
ciple ;  and  though  he  made  no  unbecoming  parade  of  his 
sentiments,  he  did  not  care  to  conceal  them.  No  one  ever 
invaded  his  personal  rights  without  finding  him  prepared  to 
defend  them. 

Mr.  Polk  always  doubted  the  power  of  the  general  go- 
vernment to  mnke  improvements  in  the  states;  and  his 
doubts  ultimately  became  absolute  denials  of  the  right.  He 
concurred,  however,  with  Mr.  Monroe,  in  the  belief  that 
such  improvements  were  desirable,  and  that  it  would  be  pro- 
per to  amend  the  constitution  so  as  to  confer  the  power, 
although,  in  the  absence  of  such  an  amendment,  they  might 
be  carried  on  with  the  consent  of  the  states  in  which  they 
were  located.  When,  therefore,  the  President  so  far  yielded 
to  those  of  his  friends  who  had  long  vainly  attempted  to 
persuade  him  to  lend  his  countenance  to  an  extensive  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements,  as  to  give  his  consent  to  the 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  333 

act  of  1824,  authorizing  surveys  to  be  made  of  the  routes  of 
of  such  roads  and  canals  as  he  might  deem  of  national  im- 
portance, Mr.  Polk  looked  upon  the  measure  with  favor. 
The  views  of  Mr.  Polk  on  this  question  of  internal  improve- 
ments subsequently  underwent  a  change  ;  and  when  he  saw 
what  great  latitude  had  been  taken  under  the  constitution 
as  it  was,  and  how  much  danger  there  was  to  be  appre- 
hended from  the  undue  enlargement  of  the  power  of  the 
general  government  by  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment, he  took  decided  ground  against  any  change,  and  ex 
erted  all  his  influence  and  authority  to  bring  back  the  ship 
of  state  to  her  ancient  channel. 

On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1824,  Mr.  Polk  was  mar- 
ried to  Sarah  Childress,  the  daughter  of  Joel  Childress,  a 
wealthy  and  enterprising  merchant  of  Rutherford  county, 
Tennessee. 

Mrs.  Polk  was  well  fitted  to  adorn  any  station.  To  the 
charms  of  a  fine  person  she  united  intellectual  accomplish- 
ments of  a  high  order.  Sweetness  of  disposition,  graceful- 
ness and  ease  of  manner,  and  beauty  of  mind,  were  happily 
blended  in  her  character.  Her  unfailing  courtesy,  and  her 
winning  deportment,  were  remarked  by  every  one  who  saw 
her  presiding  at  the  White  House. 

In  the  spring  of  1825,  Mr.  Polk  offered  himself  to  the 
electors  of  the  sixth  or  Duck  river  district,  in  which  he  re- 
Bided,  as  their  candidate  for  Congress.  At  this  time  the 
subject  of  internal  improvements  was  attracting  unusual  at- 
tention in  Tennessee,  owing,  probably,  to  the  examinations 
recently  made  by  the  board  of  engineers,  under  the  act  of 
1824,  of  the  country  between  the  Potomac  and  the  Ohio 
rivers.  Indeed,  it  was  the  only  political  question  of  im- 
portance,— except  the  manner  in  which  General  Jackson, 


334  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

whom  Mr.  Polk  had  ardently  supported,  had  been  defrauded, 
as  was  alleged  by  his  friends,  of  the  Presidency, — that  was 
then  agitated  or  discussed ;  for,  although  there  had  been 
several  candidates  voted  for  at  the  late  presidential  election, 
they  all  claimed  to  belong  to  the  same  party. 

"Although  Mr.  Polk,  like  many  other  young  men  be- 
longing to  the  democratic  party,  was  disposed,  in  1825,  to 
adopt  the  impression  that  the  authority  to  construct  worka 
of  internal  improvement  was  comprehended  in  the  money- 
power  conferred  by  the  constitution,  further  reflection  and 
experience  caused  him  to  change  his  opinion.  At  the  Au- 
gust election,  in  1825,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  Congress, 
by  a  flattering  vote.  That  he  discharged  his  duties  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  those  whom  he  represented,  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact,  that  he  was  repeatedly  returned  by  the  same 
constituency,  for  fourteen  years  in  succession,  from  1825 
to  1839.  In  the  latter  year  he  voluntarily  withdrew  from 
another  contest,  in  which  his  success  was  not  even  ques- 
tionable, in  order  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
governor  of  his  adopted  state. 

"  Mr.  Polk  first  took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, as  a  member  of  the  sixteenth  Congress,  in  December, 
1825 :  being,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  the  youngest 
member  of  that  body.  The  same  habits  of  laborious  appli- 
cation which  had  previously  characterized  him,  were  no"K 
displayed  on  the  floor  of  the  house  and  in  the  committee- 
room.  He  was  punctual  and  prompt  in  the  performanci 
of  every  duty. 

"  Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  two  houses 
of  Congress,  in  December,  1825,  the  peculiar  circumstances 
attending  the  election  of  Mr.  AdaTis,  through  the  influence 
and  aid  of  Mr.  Clay,  were  brought  up  in  review.  Amend 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  335 

ments  to  the  constitution  were  proposed  in  the  senate,  by 
Mr.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  providing  for  a  direct  vote  by  the 
people,  in  districts,  for  President,  and  dispensing  with  the 
electoral  colleges  ;  and  by  Mr.  McDuffie,  of  South  Carolina, 
in  the  house,  authorizing  the  electors  to  be  chosen  by  cys- 
tricts,  and  containing  provisions  which  would  prevent  the 
choice  of  President,  in  future,  from  devolving  on  the  house 
of  representatives.  Mr.  Polk  made  his  debut  as  a  speaker 
on  this  question,  and  advocated  the  amendment  of  the  con- 
stitution, in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the  choice  of  Presi- 
dent and  Vice  President  directly  to  the  people.  As  one  of 
the  friends  of  General  Jackson,  he  entered  warmly  into  the 
subject,  and  his  speech  was  characterized  by  what  was  with 
him  an  unusual  degree  of  animation  in  addressing  a  delibe- 
rative body.  He  afterwards  earnestly  opposed  the  Panama 
mission,  the  object  of  which  was  to  form  an  alliance,  offensive 
and  defensive  between  the  North  and  South  American  re- 
publics, and  spoke  against  a  protective  tariff  and  a  system  of 
internal  improvements.  In  reference  to  the  Panama  mission, 
Mr.  Polk  introduced  the  following  resolutions. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  constitutional  right  and  duty  of 
the  house  of  representatives,  when  called  upon  for  appropri- 
ations to  defray  the  expenses  of  foreign  missions,  to  deliberate 
on  the  expediency  or  inexpediency  of  such  missions,  and  to 
determine-  and  act  thereon,  as  in  their  judgment  may  seem 
most  conducive  to  the  public  good. 

"  Resolved^  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  House,  that  the 
Bending  of  ministers,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to 
take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Congress  of  South  Ameri- 
can nations,  at  Panama,  would  be  a  total  departure  from  the 
uniform  course  of  policy  pursued  by  this  government,  from 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  to  the  present  period  ; 


336  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  might,  and  in  all  probability  would,  have  a  tendency  to 
involve  the  nation  in  '  entangling  alliances,'  and  endanger 
the  neutrality  and  relations  of  amity  and  peace,  which  at 
present  happily  subsist  between  the  United  States  and  the 
belligerent  power.s — old  Spain  and  the  southern  republics  of 
this  continent." 

Mr.  Polk  defended  his  resolutions,  and  enforced  his  views 
upon  the  question,  in  an  argumentative  speech.    • 

During  the  whole  period  of  General  Jackson's  admini- 
stration, as  long  as  he  retained  a  seat  on  the  floor,  he  was 
one  of  its  leading  supporters,  and  at  times,  and  on  certain 
question  of  paramount  importance,  its  chief  .reliance.  In 
the  hour  of  trial  he  was  never  found  wanting,  or  from  his 
post.  In  December,  1827,  two  years  after  his  entrance  into 
the  house,  Mr.  Polk  was  placed  on  the  important  committee 
jf  foreign  affairs,  and  some  time  after  was  appointed,  in  ad 
dition,  chairman  of  the  select  committee  to  which  was  re- 
ferred that  portion  of  the  President's  message  calling  the 
attention  of  Congress  to  the  probable  accumulation  of  a 
surplus  in  the  treasury,  after  the  anticipated  extinguish- 
ment of  the  national  debt.  As  the  head  of  this  committee, 
he  made  a  lucid  report,  replete  with  Jeffersonian  doctrines, 
ably  enforced,  denying  the  constitutional  powers  of  Congress 
to  collect  from  the  people,  for  distribution,  a  surplus  beyond 
the  wants  of  the  government,  and  maintaining  that  the  re- 
venue should  be  reduced  to  the  exigencies  of  the  public  service. 
The  session  of  1830  will  always  be  distinguished  by  the  death- 
blow which  was  then  given  to  the  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments by  the  general  government.  The  Maysville  road  vets 
was  second  in  importance  to  none  of  the  acts  of  General 
Jackson's  administration.  When  the  bill  was  returned  by  the 
President  unsigned,  a  storm  arose  in  the  house ,  in  the  midst 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  337 

of  which  the  veto  was  attacked  by  a  torrent  of  passionate 
declamation,  mixed  with  no  small  share  of  personal  abuse. 
To  a  member  from  Ohio,  whose  observations  partook  of  the 
latter  character,  Mr.  Polk  replied  in  an  energetic  improvi- 
sation, vindicating  the  patriotic  resolution  of  the  Chief  Ma- 
gistrate. The  friends  of  state-rights  in  the  house  rallied 
upon  the  veto.  The  result  was  the  bill  was  rejected. 

In  September,  1833,  the  President,  determined  upon  the 
bold  measure  of  the  removal  of  the  deposits,  which  was  ef- 
fected in  the  following  month.  The  act  produced  much  ex- 
citement throughout  the  country,  and  it  was  foreseen  that  a 
great  and  doubtful  conflict  was  about  to  ensue.  At  such  a 
crisis  it  became  important  to  have  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
mittee of  ways  and  means,  a  man  of  courage  to  meet,  and 
firmness  to  sustain,  the  formidable  shock.  Such  a  man  was 
found  in  Mr.  Polk,  and  he  proved  himself  equal  to  the  oc- 
casion. Congress  met,  and  the  conflict  proved  even  fiercer 
than  had  been  anticipated.  The  cause  of  the  bank  was  sup- 
ported in  the  house  by  such  men  as  Mr.  McDuffee,  Adams, 
and  Binney,  not  to  mention  a  host  of  other  names.  Mr. 
McDuffie,  the  distinguished  leader  of  the  opposition  in  this 
eventful  conflict,  bore  testimony,  in  his  concluding  remarks, 
to  the  boldness  and  manliness  with  which  Mr.  Polk  had 
assumed  the  only  position  which  could  be  judiciously  taken. 
All  the  measures  of  the  committee,  including  those  of  para- 
mount importance,  relating  to  the  bank  and  the  deposits, 
were  carried  in  spite  of  the  most  immitigable  opposition. 

Although  the  vote  of  Tennessee,  given  at  the  presidential 
election,  in  1828,  was  almost  unanimously  in  favor  of  Ge- 
neral Jackson,  indications  of  dissatisfaction  were  manifested 
by  some  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  democratic 
party  in  that  state,  at  an  early  period  of  his  administration. 


338  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

As  the  time  approached,  for  the  selection  of  his  successor, 
the  elements  of  discord  and  disaffection  were  more  plainly 
visible.  His  preference  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  were  well  knov  n, 
sis  they  were  never  disguised.  But  in  Tennessee,  a  large 
portion  of  the  democratic  party  were  in  favor  of  Hugh  L. 
White,  an  estimable  and  talented  citizen  of  that  state,  then 
one  of  its  senators  in  Congress. 

Governor  Carroll,  Ex-Governor  Blount,  Felix  Grundy, 
James  K.  Polk,  Cave  Johnson,  and  other  discerning  men 
in  the  democratic  ranks,  in  Tennessee,  saw,  at  a  glance,  that 
the  prospects  of  Judge  White  were  utterly  hopeless.  Ten- 
nessee had  been  honored  with  a  President  of  her  oAvn  choice, 
for  eight  years  in  succession ;  and  there  was  nothing  in  the 
public  services,  or  in  the  character  of  Judge  White,  that  pe- 
culiarly entitled  him  to  inherit  this  distinction,  in  opposition 
to  the  candidates  whose  nomination  was  desired  in  other  states 
Besides,  the  general  sentiment  of  the  democratic  party  in  the 
nation,  as  manifested  in  a  thousand  ways,  and  in  the  most 
unequivocal  manner,  had  indicated  a  decided  preference  for 
Mr.  Van  Buren.  Mr.  Polk  and  his  friends  were  disposed 
to  yield  a  ready  acquiescence  to  what  appeared  to  be  the 
controlling  desire  of  their  democratic  friends  out  of  Ten- 
nessee. He  was  himself  urgently  solicited  to  join  in  some 
public  manifestation  in  behalf  of  Judge  White ;  but  he  firmly 
and  constantly  refused  to  lend  his  name  or  his  influence  foi 
any  such  purpose. 

In  the  house  of  representatives,  the  White  interest  was 
represented  by  John  Bell,  one  of  the  colleagues  of  Mr.  Polk, 
and  between  whom  there  had  long  existed  a  sort  of  rivalship. 
Both  claimed  to  be  the  sincere  friends  of  General  Jackson, 
and  both  approved  of  the  veto  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
and  the  removal  of  the  deposits.  But  Mr.  Bell  was  in  favor 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  339 

of  the  incorporation  of  another  bank,  while  Mr.  Polk,  in 
accordance  with  what  had  now  become  one  of  the  cardinal 
.doctrines  of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged,  avowed  his  un- 
compromising hostility  to  such  an  institution.  In  June, 

1834,  the  speaker  of  the  house,  Andrew  Stevenson,  of  Vir- 
ginia, resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  in  consequence  of  his 
nomination   as  minister  to  Great  Britain.     Mr.  Polk  was 
instantly  selected  by  a  majority  of  the  democratic  members, 
as  the  administration  candidate  for  the  vacant  position. 
But  the  friends  of  Judge  White  refused  to  support  him,  and 
voted  for  Mr.  Bell,  who,  with  the  aid  of  the  whig  members, 
was  elected  over  Mr.  Polk  on  the  tenth  ballot. 

Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren  was  regularly  put  in  nomination  as  the  democratic  can- 
didate for  President,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  national 
convention  assembled  at  Baltimore,  in  May,  1835.  Mr.  Polk 
took  no  part  in  calling  or  recommending  this  convention. 
It  was  entirely  a  new  movement,  and  originated  mainly  in 
a  desire  to  organize  the  democratic  party  in  a  most  efficient 
manner,  in  anticipation  of  a  powerful  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  opponents  of  the  administration  to  defeat  their  candi- 
dates. After  the  nominations  were  made,  and  received 
with  an  almost  universal  expression  of  approbation  in  every 
state  in  the  Union,  Tennessee  alone  excepted,  Mr.  Polk  an- 
nounced his  determination  not  to  separate  himself  from  the 
democratic  party  of  the  nation.  Messrs.  Carroll,  Blount, 
Grundy,  and  Johnson,  agreed  with  him  in  sentiment,  and 
active  preparations  were  immediately  made  to  carry  the  state 
at  the  gubernatorial  and  congressional  elections,  in  August, 

1835.  But  the  time  proved  too  short  to  counteract  the  im- 
pressions which  had  been  formed,  and  to  change  the  direction 
of  the  popular  current.     The  whigs  united  with  the  friends 


340  LIVES  OF  THE  PBESIDENTS. 

*>f  Judge  White,  and  succeeded  in  defeating  Governor  Car 
"oil,  who  was  nominated  for  re-election,  and  all  the  admi- 
nistration candidates  for  Congress,  save  Mr.  Polk  and  Mr. 
Johnson. 

Judge  White  ultimately  received  the  support  only  of  the 
opponents  of  the  administration  and  of  the  friends  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  except  that  in  a  very  few  instances  he 
obtained  the  votes  of  persons  in  the  southern  states,  who 
thought  Mr.  Van  Buren  would  be  unable  to  carry  them,  and 
desired  to  prevent  the  election  of  General  Harrison,  the 
whig  candidate  at  the  north.  In  the  state  of  Tennessee, 
Mr.  Polk  and  his  friends  engaged  with  great  activity  in  the 
contest,  in  support  of  Mr.  Van  Buren ;  but  the  White  elec- 
toral ticket,  with  the  whig  opposition  united  in  its  favor, 
succeeded  by  %bout  nine  thousand  majority. 

Shortly  after  the  August  election,  in  1835,  Mr.  Polk 
visited  Nashville,  when  on  his  way  to  Rutherford  county. 
While  at  the  seat  of  government,  the  compliment  of  a  public 
dinner  was  tendered  to  him  by  the  democrats  of  that  city ; 
but  he  was  forced  to  decline  the  proffered  invitation,  on 
account  of  the  poor  state  of  his  health. 

When  the  members  of  the  twenty-fourth  Congress  assem- 
bled at  the  capitol  for  their  first  regular  session,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1835,  it  was  found  that  the  friends  of  the  administra- 
tion were  largely  in  the  majority.  Mr.  Polk  was  selected 
by  general  consent  as  their  candidate  for  speaker,  not 
merely  as  an  act  of  justice  on  account  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  was  defeated  the  previous  year,  but  as  a 
tribute  to  the  firmness  and  independences  he  had  exhibited 
during  the  canvass  in  Tennessee.  Mr.  Bell  was  once  more 
the  opposing  candidate,  but  he  received  only  eighty-four 
yotes,  while  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  were  given  for  Mr 


JAMES   KNOX    POLK.  341 

Polk.  At  the  first,  or  extra  session  of  tho  twenty -fifth 
Congress,  held  in  September,  1837,  the  same  candidate! 
were  pitted  against  each  other  —  Mr.  Bell  being  at  that  tiiw 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  opposition.  Parties  were 
more  equally  divided  in  this  Congress,  but  Mr.  Polk  wat 
again  chosen  over  his  opponent  by  thirteen  majority. 

As  the  speaker  of  the  twenty -fourth  and  the  twenty-fiftl 
Congress,  Mr.  Polk  occupied  the  chair  of  the  house  during 
five  sessions.  It  was  his  fortune  to  fill  this  distinguished 
position  when  party  feelings  were  excited  to  an  unusual 
degree.  During  the  first  session,  more  appeals  were  taken 
from  his  decisions,  than  were  ever  before  known ;  but  he 
was  uniformly  sustained  by  the  house,  and  frequently  by 
the  most  prominent  members  of  the  opposition.  He  was 
courteous  and  affable  toward  all  who  approached  him,  and 
in  his  manner,  as  the  presiding  officer,  dignity  and  urbanity 
were  appropriately  blended.  At  the  close  of  the  twenty- 
fourth  Congress,  in  March,  1837,  a  unanimous  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  speaker  was  passed  by  the  house. 

In  adjourning  the  house,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1889,  and 
terminating  for  ever  his  connection  with  the  body,  of  which 
he  had  been  so  long  a  member,  Mr.  Polk  delivered  a  fare- 
well address  of  more  than  ordinary  length,  but  characterized 
by  deep  feeling. 

Still  higher  honors  awaited  Mr.  Polk.  His  long  and  ar- 
duous service  in  the  national  representation,  and  more  es- 
pecially the  circumstances  attending  the  presidential  canvass 
of  1836,  had  familiarized  the  people  of  Tennessee  with  hia 
name  and  character.  To  the  democrat  party  he  was  endeared 
for  his  sacrifices  in  their  behalf,  by  his  devotion  to  their  in- 
terests, and  his  steadfast  maintainance  of  their  principles. 

At  the  earnest  request  of  his  friends,  Ivlr.  Polk  consented 


342  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

to  become  the  candidate  of  the  democrats  of  Tennessee,  at 
the  August  election,  in  1839,  for  the  office  of  governor.  It 
was  very  evident  that  none  but  the  strongest  man  in  the 
party  could  enter  into  the  canvass  with  any  thing  like  a 
fair  prospect  before  him ;  and  it  was  exceedingly  doubtful 
whether  he  could  be  successful.  Mr.  Polk  accepted  the  nomi- 
nation which  was  tendered  to  him  by  the  unanimous  consent 
of  his  democratic  friends,  in  the  fall  of  1838,  and  at  a  bar- 
becue in  Murfreesborough  publicly  declared  himself  a  candi- 
date. He  immediately  took  the  stump,  but  was  only  able 
to  make  a  few  speeches  that  fall,  as  it  was  necessary  for  him 
to  repair  to  Washington  in  time  for  the  opening  of  the  session 
of  Congress.  At  the  close  of  the  session,  in  the  spring  of 
1839,  he  hastened  home  without  delay,  and  his  voice  was 
soon  heard  uttering  its  appeals,  that  aroused  the  energies 
of  the  party.  The  canvass  was  warm  and  spirited.  The 
state  had  for  years  been  in  the  hands  of  the  opposition,  and 
they  now  rallied  with  enthusiasm  and  alacrity  in  support  of 
Governor  Cannon,  the  incumbent  of  the  office,  who  was  a 
candidate  for  re-election. 

The  exertions  of  Mr.  Polk  during  this  canvass  deserved 
the  success  with  which  they  were  rewarded.  He  was  elected 
over  Governor  Cannon  by  upwards  of  twenty-five  hundred 
majority,  and  on  the  14th  of  October  took  the  oath  of  office 
at  Na.shville,  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
On  this  occasion,  he  delivered  an  address,  which  is  consi- 
dered to  be  one  of  the  clearest  and  ablest  documents  that 
ever  came  from  his  pen. 

By  the  amended  constitution  of  Tennessee,  provision  was 
made  for  such  works  of  internal  improvements  as  the  geo- 
graphical position  of  the  state  rendered  necessary ;  and  in 
his  first  regular  message,  delivered  to  the  two  houses  of  the 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  343 

general  assembly,  on  the  22d  of  October,  1839,  GovernoY 
Polk  advised  the  "  vigorous  prosecution  of  a  judicious  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements,"  and  that  "  a  board  of  public 
works,  to  be  composed  of  two  or  more  competent  and  scien- 
tific men,  should  be  authorized,  and  their  duties  established 
by  law."  In  the  same  message,  he  recommended  the  revi- 
sion of  the  laws  prohibiting  the  practice  of  betting  on  elec- 
tions, which,  he  says,  "  begets  excitement  and  engenders 
strife ;  and  it  but  too  often  happens,  that  those  who  have 
stakes  at  hazard,  become  more  interested  to  secure  them, 
than  by  a  dispassionate  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  to 
secure  the  public  good." 

Of  irresponsible  issues  of  paper  money,  or  paper  credits 
intended  for  circulation  as  money,  he  was  always  jealous ; 
and  in  his  second  regular  annual  message  to  the  legislature, 
in  1841,  he  advised  "  a  revision  of  the  laws  prohibiting  the 
issuance  of  any  exchange  tickets  or  small  paper  bills,  by 
individuals  and  corporations  other  than  banks,"  for  the 
reason,  as  stated  by  him,  that  "  some  of  the  internal  im- 
provement companies  in  which  the  state  was  a  copartner," 
had  issued  "  small  paper  bills  in  the  form  of  script  or  checks, 
and  put  them  into  circulation  as  money,  without  any  specie 
basis  upon  which  to  rest,  and  without  authority  of  law." 

The  administration  of  the  state  government  by  Mr.  Polk 
was  satisfactory  to  the  public,  and  his  course  as  chief  magis- 
trate was  well  calculated  to  harmonize  the  party  of  which, 
by  the  death  of  his  old  friend  and  preceptor,  Mr.  Grundy, 
in  1840,  he  had  become  the  acknowledged  head.  The  terra 
of  office  of  Mr.  Polk  expired  in  October,  1841,  but  at  the 
August  election  of  that  year,  he  was  again  a  candidate.  Hh 
prospects  were  dark — the  Harrison  electoral  ticket  had  suc- 
ceeded in  the  state  by  more  than  twelve  thousand  majority. 


344  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

To  overcome  this  heavy  vote  was  impossible  ;  but  Mr.  Polk 
entered  upon  the  canvass  with  his  accustomed  spirit  and 
ability.  His  competitor  was  James  C.  Jones,  a  most  effective 
speaker,  and  decidedly  the  most  popular  man  at  that  time 
in  the  whig  party  of  the  state. 

Personal  good  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  opposing  candi- 
dates characterized  this  contest,  as  it  had  that  of  1839. 
Mr.  Polk  frankly  and  cordially  met  Mr  Jones  on  the  atump 
and  travelled  in  company  with  him.  But  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Polk 
proved  unavailing.  The  politics  of  the  state  were  for  the 
time  firmly  fixed  in  opposition  to  his  own.  He  was  defeated, 
but  reduced  the  whig  majority  to  about  three  thousand.  In 
1843,  he  was  once  more  a  candidate  opposed  to  Governor 
Jones,  but  the  latter  was  re-elected  by  nearly  four  thousand 
majority. 

On  leaving  the  executive  chair  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  Polk 
returned  to  private  life.  He  possessed  a  competence — all 
that  he  needed  or  desired — which  enabled  him  to  be  liberal 
m  the  bestowment  of  his  charities,  and  to  dispense  a  generous 
hospitality  to  his  numerous  friends. 

Mr.  Polk  was  not  without  ambition ;  but  he  preferred 
henceforth  for  others  to  secure  his  advancement,  if  they  de- 
sired so  to  do,  and  contented  himself  with  being  in  the  main 
a  passive  instrument  in  their  hands.  In  1841  and  1843,  he 
came  forth  as  a  candidate  for  governor,  only  in  compliance 
with  the  general  desire  of  his  party.  The  wishes  and  ex- 
pectation of  his  immediate  friends  were  early  fixed  on  the 
presidential  office.  At  the  session  of  the  Tennessee  legis- 
lature, in  1839,  he  was  nominated  by  that  body  for  the 
Vice  Presidency,  to  be  placed  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  and  with  the  expectation,  no  doubt,  that  he  might 
succeed  that  gentleman  in  the  higher  office.  He  was  after 


jAMES  KNOX  POLK.  345 

wards  nominated  in  other  states  for  the  same  position ;  biu 
as  Colonel  Johnson  seemed  to  be  the  choice  of  the  great 
body  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  union,  no  efforts  of  im- 
portance were  made  by  the  former,  and  at  the  election,  in 
1840,  he  received  but  one  electoral  vote,  in  the  college  of 
Virginia. 

From  the  time  of  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  1840, 
up  to  within  a  few  weeks  previous  to  the  assembling  of  the 
national  democratic  convention  at  Baltimore,  in  1844,  public 
opinion  in  the  democratic  party  seemed  to  be  firmly  fixed 
•upon  him  as  their  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  station 
he  had  once  filled.  But  in  the  month  of  April,  1844,  a 
treaty  was  concluded,  under  the  auspices  of  President  Tyler, 
between  the  representatives  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  republic  of  Texas,  providing  for  the  an- 
nexation of  the  latter  to  the  American  Confederacy.  This 
measure,  though  long  in  contemplation,  was  fruitful  in  strife 
and  dissension.  Hitherto  it  had  been  conceded  on  every 
hand,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Clay  ought  to  be,  and 
would  be,  the  rival  candidates  for  the  Presidency,  in  1844 ; 
but  now  the  political  elements  were  thrown  into  complete 
confusion.  The  opinions  of  every  public  man  in  the  United 
States  were  sought ;  and  among  others,  Mr.  Polk  was  ad- 
dressed. He  replied,  arguing  in  favor  of  annexation. 

When  the  Texas  question  was  presented  in  this  manner 
to  the  American  people,  public  men,  and  the  parties  to 
which  they  belonged,  arrayed  themselves  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  The  whig  party  at  the  north  opposed  the  annexation. 
The  democratic  party  generally  favored  the  annexation ;  but 
a  small  portion  of  the  party  at  the  north,  and  a  few  of  its 
members  residing  in  the  slave  states  opposed  it. 

In  the  midst  of  the  commotion  produced  by  the  agitation 


346  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

of  tae  Texas  question,  the  national  democratic  convention 
assembled  at  Baltimore,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1844.  Until 
the  publication  of  his  Texas  letter,  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  been 
by  far  the  most  prominent  candidate  ;  but  when  the  conven- 
tion met,  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan ;  Richard  M.  Johnson, 
of  Kentucky ;  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Levi 
Woodbury,  of  New  Hampshire,  all  of  whom  were  in  favor  of 
the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas,  were  supported  for  the 
nomination  by  their  respective  friends,  with  greater  or  less 
earnestness.  Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the 
convention,  a  rule  was  adopted,  in  accordance  with  the  pre- 
cedents established  by  the  conventions  of  1832  and  1835, 
requiring  a  vote  of  two-thirds  to  secure  a  nomination.  Mr. 
Van  Buren  received  a  majority  of  votes  on  the  first  ballot ; 
seven  additional  ballotings  were  then  had,  but  at  no  time  did 
he  receive  a  vote  of  two  thirds ;  whereupon  his  name  was 
withdrawn  by  the  New  York  delegation.  The  delegates  op- 
posed to  the  nomination,  after  the  first  ballot,  concentrated 
their  strength  mainly  upon  Mr.  Cass ;  but  as  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  numbered  more  than  one-third  of  the  con- 
vention, and  were  irreconcilably  hostile  to  the  selection  of 
any  of  the  other  candidates  originally  proposed,  it  was  appa- 
rent that  no  nomination  could  be  made  without  their  consent. 
The  name  of  Mr.  Polk  had  been  freely  spoken  of  in  con- 
nection with  the  Vice  Presidency,  and  when  the  convention 
found  itself  in  this  dilemma,  a  number  of  his  friends  among 
the  delegates  voted  for  him  on  the  eighth  ballot  as  the  pre- 
sidential candidate.  On  the  ninth  ballot  he  received  nearly 
all  the  votes  of  the  members  of  the  convention,  and  the  vote 
was  subsequently  made  unanimous.  The  nomination  for  the 
Vice  Presidency  was  tendered  with  great  unanimity  to  Silas 
Wright,  of  New  York,  a  distinguished  friend  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  347 

but  it  was  declined  ;  and  George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, was  then  put  in  nomination.  The  closing  proceedings 
of  the  convention  were  marked  by  great  good  feeling  and 
enthusiasm. 

The  nomination  of  Mr.  Polk  was  communicated  to  him  by 
a  committee  appointed  by  the  convention.  Unexpected  as 
was  the  honor  thus  conferred  upon  him,  he  did  not  decline  it. 
In  reply  to  the  committee  he  returned  a  letter  of  acceptance, 
in  which  he  avowed  his  firm  determination  in  the  event  of  his 
election,  not  to  be  again  a  candidate. 

Prior  to  its  adjournment,  the  Baltimore  convention 
adopted  a  series  of  resolution,  setting  forth  the  principles 
chat  distinguished  them  as  a  party.  By  the  acceptance  of 
their  nomination,  Mr.  Polk  signified  his  approbation  of  those 
resolutions. 

The  candidates  selected  by  the  whig  party,  in  opposition  to 
the  democratic  nominees,  were  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  for 
President,  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey,  for 
Vice  President.  Mr.  Tyler,  the  then  President,  was  also 
put  in  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  by  a  convention  of 
his  friends,  but  he  subsequently  withdrew  his  name  and  gave 
his  support  to  the  democratic  ticket.  The  nomination  was 
not  only  well  received,  but  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  was  soon 
« roused  in  his  favor.  The  election  was  conducted  with  great 
spirit  and  animation.  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Cass,  with 
the  other  candidates  before  the  national  convention,  and 
their  friends  cordially  supported  the  ticket. 

In  the  electoral  colleges,  Mr.  Polk  received  one  hundred 

.and  seventy  votes,  and  Mr.  Clay  one  hundred  and  five.  The 

majority  of  Mr.  Polk  over  his  distinguished  competitor,  on 

the  popular  vote,  was  about  forty  thousand,  exclusive  of  the 

vote  of  South  Carolina,  whose  electors  are  chosen  by  the 


348  LIVES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

state  legislature.    The  total  vote  was  a  little  less  than  two 
million  seven  hundred  thousand. 

On  the  28th  of  November — the  result  of  the  election  being 
then  known — Mr.  Polk  visited  Nashville,  and  was  honored 
with  a  public  reception  by  his  democratic  friends,  together 
with  a  number  of  his  opponents  in  the  late  contest,  who 
cheerfully  united  with  them  in  paying  due  honors  to  the  Pre- 
sident elect  of  the  people's  choice.  A  brilliant  civic  and 
military  procession  escorted  him  to  the  public  square  in  front 
of  the  court  house,  where  he  was  addressed  by  the  Honorable 
A.  0.  P.  Nicholson,  on  behalf  of  the  large  assembly,  that 
had  collected  to  welcome  him  to  the  seat  of  government.  To 
the  address  of  Mr.  Nicholson,  congratulating  him  on  his* 
success,  and  assuring  him  of  the  highest  respect  and  admi- 
ration entertained  for  his  intellectual  capacity  and  his  private 
virtues  by  the  people  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  Polk  replied  in  a 
conciliatory  and  grateful  spirit. 

Mr.  Polk  left  his  home  in  Tennessee,  on  his  way -to  Wash- 
ington, toward  the  latter  part  of  January,  1845.  He  waa 
accompanied  on  his  journey  by  Mrs.  Polk,  and  several  per- 
sonal friends.  On  the  31st  instant,  he  had  a  long  private 
interview  at  the  Hermitage,  with  his  venerable  friend,  Andrew 
Jackson.  The  leave-taking  was  affectionate  and  impressive, 
for  each  felt  conscious,  that,  in  all  probability  it  was  a  fare- 
well for  ever. 

On  the  first  of  February,  Mr.  Polk  and  suite  left  Nashville, 
and  proceeded  as  rapidly  as  possible,  considering  the  demon 
Btrations  of  respect  with  which  he  was  every  where  received 
on  his  route,  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  nation. 

The  President  elect  and  his  party  arrived  at  Washington 
on  the  13th  of  February,  and  was  immediately  waited  upon 
by  a  committee  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress,  who  informed 


JAMES  KNOX  PO^K.  349 

him  that  the  returns  from  the  electoral  colleges  had  been 
opened,  and  the  ballots  counted,  on  the  previous  day ;  and 
that  he  had  been  declared  duly  elected  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  thereupon  signified  his  acceptance  of 
the  office  to  which  he  had  been  chosen  by  the  people,  and 
desired  the  committee  to  convey  to  Congress  his  assurances, 
that  "  in  executing  the  responsible  duties  which  would  de- 
volve upon  him,  it  would  be  his  anxious  desire  to  maintain 
the  honor  and  promote  the  welfare  of  the  country." 

On  the  4th  day  of  March,  1845,  Mr.  Polk  was  inaugurated 
President  of  the  United  States.  An  immense  concourse  of 
people  assembled  at  Washington — every  quarter  of  the  Union 
being  well  represented — to  witness  the  imposing  ceremony. 
At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  the  procession  moved 
from  the  quarters  of  the  President  elect,  at  Coleman's 
hotel — Mr.  Polk  and  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Tyler,  riding 
together  in  an  open  carriage.  Arriving  at  the  capitol,  the 
President  elect  and  the  Ex-President  entered  the  senate 
chamber.  Here  a  procession  was  formed,  when  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  platform  on  the  east  front  of  the  capitol,  from 
which  Mr.  Polk  delivered  his  inaugural  address.* 

This  paper  was  long,  clearly  written,  and  argumentative. 
The  policy  of  the  incoming  administration  was  defined,  and 
strongly  enforced.  The  oath  of  office  was  then  administered 
by  Chief  Justice  Taney,  and  Mr.  Polk  returned  to  the  pre- 
sidential mansion.  In  the  evening,  the  President  and  his 
lady  attended  two  balls  given  in  honor  of  the  inauguration. 

President  Polk's  cabinet  was  made  up  from  the  most  dis- 
tinguehed  members  of  the  democratic  party,  as  follows: 
James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  State ; 

*  We  are  indebted  for  the  greater  part  of  this  sketch  to  the  ably  written 
u  Life  of  James  K.  Polk,"  by  John  8.  Jenkins,  Esq. 


350  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Robert  J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
William  L.  Marcy,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  War ;  George 
Bancroft,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Cave 
Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  Postmaster  General ;  and  John  Y. 
Mason,  of  Virginia,  Attorney  General.  With  such  a  mi- 
nistry, it  was  expected  that  the  President  would  satisfy  the 
expectations  of  the  democratic  party. 

The  first  important  achievement  of  the  new  administra- 
tion— that  which  influenced  the  remainder  of  his  term — 
was  the  consummation  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the 
union.  Shortly  before  the  close  of  Mr.  Tyler's  term  of 
office,  joint  resolutions  in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas 
had  passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  and  in  pursuance  of 
them,  President  Polk  instructed  the  charge  d'affairs  of  the 
United  States,  in  Texas,  to  make  the  necessary  overtures. 
The  people  of  the  infant  republic  accepted  the  proffered 
terms,  then  held  a  convention,  framed  and  adopted  a  stat«» 
constitution,  and  prepared  themselves  for  admission  into 
the  union.  In  his  first  annual  message,  President  Polk 
called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  importance  of  pass- 
ing at  an  early  day,  an  act  recognizing  Texas  as  a  sister  of 
the  confederacy. 

The  "Army  of  Occupation,"  which  had  been  ordered  to 
take  post  between  the  Neuces  and  del  Norte  (Rio  Grande) 
was  under  the  command  of  brevet  Brigadier-General  Taylor, 
the  fleet  in  the  gulf  was  under  the  orders  of  Commodore 
Conner.  Of  the  events  which  brought  about  the  declaration 
of  war,  and  upon  which  so  much  discussion  has  been  held, 
we  have  not  room  here  to  speak. 

The  opposition  in  Congress  denounced  the  war  as  unjust, 
and  as  being  unconstitutionally  begun  by  the  President.  It 
was  said  <hat  the  President  had  authorized  such  aggressive 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  351 

» 

measures  as  were  calculated  to  provoke  war,  at  d  that  he 
then  called  upon  Congress  to  recognize  the  existence  of 
hostilities. 

"War  was  declared  against  Mexico.  Even  before  the  de- 
claration passed  Congress,  General  Taylor  fought  two  bat- 
tles, with  a  much  superior  Mexican  force,  commanded  by 
General  Arista,  and  gained  two  glorious  victories-— those  of 
Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma.  From  that  time  the 
contest  was  prosecuted  by  the  United  States  forces,  with  as- 
tonishing vigor  and  success.  Generals  Taylor  and  Scott, 
with  a  gallant  band  of  officers  and  troops  won  imperishable 
laurels.  Monterey,  Buena  Vista,  Bracita,  Sacramento,  Doni- 
phan's  march,  the  capture  of  Vera  Cruz  and  San  Juan  de  Ulloa, 
Sierra  Gordo,  Contreras,  Churubusco,  Molina  del  Rey,  Cha- 
pultepec,  and  Mexico  will  ever  remain  as  brilliant  testimonials 
to  the  skill  and  indomitable  courage  of  the  American  soldiery. 
Stockton,  Kearney,  and  Fremont  made  an  almost  bloodless 
conquest  of  Alta  California,  which  was  afterwards  ascertained 
to  be  one  of  the  richest  countries  in  the  world,  and  is  now 
the  magnet  of  so  many  hearts.  New  Mexico  was  conquered 
by  Kearney  without  a  battle.  After  the  capture  of  her  cap- 
ital, Mexico  was  willing  to  negotiate  for  peace.  On  the  2d 
of  February,  1848,  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  a  treaty  was  con- 
cluded by  the  United  States  commissioner,  Mr.  N.  P.  Trist, 
and  three  Mexican  commissioners.  By  this  treaty,  the  Rio 
Grande  was  established  as  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  below  El  Paso ;  the  extensive  provinces 
of  New  Mexico  and  Upper  California  were  ceded  to  th« 
United  States,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  to  the  go- 
vernment of  Mexico,  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars, 
and  the  assumption  by  the  former  claims  of  her  citizens.  This 
treaty  vrith  some  modifications  was  ratified  by  both  govern- 


352  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

ments,  the  United  Strtes  forces  evacuated  Mexico,  and  peace 
once  more  smiled  upon  the  two  republics. 

The  recommendations  of  President  Polk,  in  his  first  annual 
message,  the  restoration  of  the  independent  treasury  system — 
the  revision  of  the  tariff  act  of  1842,  substituting  ad  valorem 
for  specific  dates,  and  reducing  it  to  a  revenue  standard — • 
the  increase  of  the  navy ;  and  the  gradation  of  the  price  of 
the  public  land,  were  approved  and  carried  into  effect  by 
Congress.  A  bill,  appropriating  nearly  one  million  five  hun- 
dred thousand  for  the  improvement  of  certain  harbors  and 
rivers,  was  passed  by  Congress  in  the  latter  part  of  July  1846. 
On  the  3d  of  August,  Mr.  Polk  returned  it  with  a  message, 
stating  his  objection.  From  the  President's  previous  course 
in  regard  to  internal  improvements,  this  veto  might  have  been 
expected.  But  it  excited  much  clamor.  In  the  house,  the 
bill  was  reconsidered,  but  a  two-thirds  vote  could  not  be 
obtamed. 

But  few  changes  took  place  in  the  cabinet  during  Mr. 
Polk's  administration.  Mr.  Bancroft  was  appointed  minis- 
ter to  England,  and  John  Y.  Mason,  the  Attorney  General, 
was  transferred  to  the  post  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Nathan  Clifford,  of  Maine,  was  appointed  Attorney  General. 
In  the  summer  of  1847,  President  Polk  made  a  tour  through 
the  middle  and  eastern  states,  proceeding  as  far  as  Portland, 
Maine.  He  Avas  received  with  every  demonstration  of  respect. 
The  opposition  obtained  a  small  majority  in  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives- of  the  thirtieth  Congress,  and  elected  Robert 
E.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  speaker.  The  first  session 
of  this  congress  extended  from  the  1st  of  December,  1847, 
til.  the  14th  of  August  1848.  The  opposition  maintained 
that  the  government  should  pursue  a  defensive  policy  in  the 
war  with  Mexico,  but  to  this  the  President  was  utterly  op- 


JAMES  KNOX  POLK.  353 

posed  and  he  stated  his  reasons  at  length  in  his  message  to 
Congress.  Much  of  the  session  was  occupied  in  discussion 
of  the  war  measures.  The  bill  providing  a  territorial  govern- 
ment for  Oregon,  and  prohibiting  the  institution  of  slavery 
therein,  passed  Congress  not  long  before  its  adjournment,  and 
was  approved  by  the  President. 

Mr.  Polk  heartily  approved  of  the  nominations  for  PresH 
dent  and  Vice  President  made  by  the  democratic  convention, 
which  met  at  Baltimore,  in  May,  1848.  In  a  letter  to  the 
convention,  he  declined  to  be  considered  a  candidate.  At 
the  election,  the  opponents  of  the  administration  were  suc- 
cessful. General  Taylor  and  Millard  Fillmore  obtained  a 
majority  over  the  democratic  nominees,  General  Cass  and 
General  Butler. 

Congress  assembled,  for  the  last  time  during  the  admini- 
stration of  Mr.  Polk,  on  the  4th  of  December,  1845.  In 
his  message,  the  President  took  occasion  to  enlarge  upon  the 
policy  of  the  administration,  and  to  its  justice  and  expedi- 
ency. In  particular,  he  strove  to  justify  the  exercise  of  the 
veto  power.  No  acts  of  importance  were  passed  during  this 
congressional  session,  which  lasted  until  the  3rd  of  March, 
1849.  Mr.  Polk  remained  in  Washington,  and  took  part  in 
the  ceremonies  attending  the  inauguration  of  General  Tay- 
lor ;  and  then  returned  to  Tennessee  by  way  of  Richmond, 
Charleston,  and  New  Orleans.  At  the  various  points  upon 
his  route,  he  was  greeted  with  public  receptions. 

Mr.  Polk  had  purchased  the  estate  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  his  preceptor,  Felix  Grundy,  situated  in  the  heart 
of  Nashville.  There  he  determined  to  pass  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  surrounded  by  comforts  and  conveniences,  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  an  affectionate  and  admiring  circle  of 
friends.  But  he  was  not  permitted  to  linger  among  the  de- 


354  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

lightful  shades  of  domestic  life.  In  June,  1849,  the  cholera, 
like  a  desolating  blast,  swept  over  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, carrying  off  thousands,  with  the  suddenness  of  the 
plague  of  the  old  world.  On  his  way  from  l^ew  Orleans 
up  the  Mississippi,  in  March,  1849,  Mr.  Polk  had  suffered 
much  from  diarrhaea ;  but  it  was  checked  and  he  seemed  to 
be  restored  to  perfect  health.  But  he  was  not  long  at  home, 
before  he  was  again  beset  with  chronic  diarrhsea,  which  ter- 
minated its  work  in  death,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1849,  in 
the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Polk  left  no  children 
His  property  was  bequeathed  to  his  widow,  and  to  an 
adopted  son  of  his  brother  Marshall. 

In  person,  Mr.  Polk  was  about  the  average  height,  and 
rather  thin.  He  had  a  full  forehead,  expressive  blue  eyes, 
and  in  general  a  serious,  earnest  cast  of  c'ountenance.  He 
was  plain  in  his  habits,  and  blameless  in  his  private  life. 
As  a  statesman,  he  was  decided  in  his  views,  and  firm  in 
the  maintainance  of  his  opinions.  As  an  orator,  he  was 
ready  and  earnest,  but  seldom  brilliant.  As  a  writer,  he  was 
clear  and  correct,  but  occasionally  diffuse.  He  will  be  re-, 
membered,  as  having  conducted  one  of  the  most  eventful 
administrations  known  to  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  as  having  exercised  an  important  influence  upon  the 
politics  of  the  country. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR. 

POPULARITY,  like  a  butterfly,  frequently,  rests  upon  those 
who  least  care  for  catching  it.  There  are  certain  qualities 
which,  as  soon  as  displayed  win  the  general  love,  and  ever 
call  forth  the  public  admiration.  It  is  common  to  say  that 
audacity  alone  secures  popular  esteem,  and  that  modest 
merit  lies  unappreciated.  But  facts  prove  it  to  be  other- 
wise. The  mass  have  clearer  vision  than  the  few,  and  no 
counterfeit  coin  can  long  be  imposed  upon  them.  They  re- 
cognize integrity,  intelligence,  and  heroism,  as  soon  as  pre- 
sented to  their  view,  and  immediately  give  these  qualities 
their  due  regard.  Integrity,  they  value  above  all  other 
features  of  character.  In  their  opinion — 

"  An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 

They  give  their  hearts  to  a  man  upon  whose  word  and 
action  they  know  they  can  safely  build.  Intelligence  they 
look  at  last ;  because  they  know  that  determined  common 
sense  can  never  be  very  far  out  of  the  right  path.  ,  It  was 
for  integrity  and  determination  that  the  people  raised 
Zachary  Taylor  to  the  highest  office  in  their  gift. 

Zachary  Taylor  was  born  in  Orange  county,  Virginia, 
in  the  year  1784.  His  father,  Colonel  Richard  Taylor, 

355 


356 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


a  zealous  patriot  of  the  revolution,  soon  after  the  birth  of 
Zachary,  removed  to  the  state  of  Kentucky,  and  settled 
near  Louisville.  At  the  age  of  six  years,  Zachary  was 
placed  under  a  private  tutor,  a  Mr.  Ayres,  who  was  pecu- 
liarly fitted  for  the  task  of  "  teaching  the  young  idea  how 
to  shoot."  All  accounts  agree  that  young  Taylor  displayed 
rare  force  of  character,  and  evinced  a  passion  for  military 
exercise  and  active  sports. 

As  he  ardently  desired  to  enter  the  army,  his  father,  in 
1808,  procured  him  the  commission  of  lieutenant,  in  the  7th 
regiment  of  the  United  States  infantry. 

Not  long  after,  he  joined  the  army  at  New  Orleans,  then 
under  the  command  of  General  Wilkinson.  In  1810,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Smith,  of  Maryland, 
a  lady  in  all  respects  worthy  of  his  affections.  In  the  fol- 
lowing November,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain. 
In  1811,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Knox,  on  the 
Wabash,  in  the  vicinity  of  Vincennes.  From  this  station  he 
was  ordered  to  the  east,  a  short  time  before  the  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe.  In  1812,  he  received  orders  to  take  command  of 
Fort  Harrison,  a  post  situated  on  the  Wabash,  seventy-five 
miles  above  Vincennes  and  fifty  miles  beyond  the  frontier 
settlements.  This  was  an  important  trust  for  one  of  his  age. 
But  certain  events  proved  the  sagacity  of  the  appointment. 

While  in  command  of  Fort  Harrison,  Captain  Taylor 
became  the  hero  of  one  of  the  most  desperate  conflicts  fought 
during  the  war.  This  frontier  post  was  nothing  more  than 
a  slight  stockade,  which  had  been  thrown  up  by  General 
Harrison  in  1811,  while  on  his  march  to  Tippecanoe.  The 
defences  were  of  the  most  simple  and  primitive  kind.  The 
whole  was  built  of  unseasoned  timber ;  and  was  formed  on 
three  sides  by  single  rows  of  pickets ;  the  fourth  side  con- 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  357 

sisting  of  a  range  of  log  huts,  appropriated  as  barracks  for 
the  soldiers,  and  terminated  at  either  extreme  by  a  block 
house.  When  Captain  Taylor  assumed  the  command  of  thia 
rude  fortification,  it  was  exceedingly  ill  provided  either  for 
comfort  or  defence,  and  was  garrisoned  by  a  single  broken 
company  of  infantry. 

On  the  third  of  September,  1812,  two  men  were  murdered 
by  the  Indians  within  a. few  hundred  yards  of  the  fort.  Late 
on  the  evening  of  the  4th,  between  thirty  and  forty  Indians 
arrived  from  Prophet's  town,  bearing  a  white  flag.  They  were 
principally  chiefs,  and  belonged  to  the  various  tribes  that 
composed  the  Prophet's  party.  Captain  Taylor  was  informed 
that  the  principal  chief  would  make  him  a  speech  the 
next  morning,  and  that  the  object  of  their  visit  was  to  get 
something  to  eat.  The  plot  was  well  conceived,  and  boldly 
executed ;  but  it  was  instantly  detected  by  the  eagle  eye  of 
the  young  commander,  and  he  redoubled  his  exertions  to  put 
the  fort  in  a  proper  state  of  defence. 

The  premeditated  attack,  so  craftily  arranged,  was  made 
as  expected.  About  eleven  o'clock,  Captain  Taylor  was 
awakened  by  the  firing  of  one  of  his  sentinels.  He  imme- 
diately ordered  his  men  to  their  posts,  and  the  firing  became  ge- 
neral on  both  sides.  In  the  midst  of  the  uproar,  it  was  disco- 
vered that  the  Indians  had  set  fire  to  the  lower  block-house. 
Without  a  moment's  pause,  Captain  Taylor  directed  buckets 
to  be  brought,  and  the  fire  to  be  extinguished.  But  it  was 
much  easier  to  give  the  order  than  to  have  it  executed.  The 
men  appeared  to  be  paralyzed  and  stupified.  The  alarm  of 
fire  had  thrown  the  garrison  into  the  greatest  confusion,  in 
the  midst  of  which  all  orders  were  unheard  or  disregarded 
Unfortunately,  there  was  a  great  quantity  of  whisky  among 
the  contractor's  stores  deposited  in  the  block-house,  which 


358 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


having  caught  fire,  caused  the  flames  to  spread  with  great 
rapidity,  and  rage  with  irresistible  fury.  During  this  time 
the  Indians  were  not  idle,  but  kept  up  an  incessant  and 
rapid  discharge  of  rifles  against  the  picketing,  accompanied 
by  a  concert  of  the  most  infernal  yells  that  ever  issued  from 
the  throat  of  man,  beast,  or  devil.  The  fire  soon  ascended 
to  the  roof  of  the  block-house,  and  threatened  to  wrap  the 
whole  fort  in  a  sheet  of  flame. 

The  men  gave  themselves  up  for  lost,  and  ceased  to  pay 
any  attention  to  the  orders.  Disorder  was  at  its  height,  and 
the  scene  became  terrific.  The  fire  raged,  and  surged,  and 
roared — the  Indians  howled  and  yelled — dogs  barked — the 
wounded  groaned ;  and  high  above  all,  arose  the  shriek  of 
woman  in  her  terror,  sending  its  keen  and  thrilling  accents 
through  the  mingled  sounds  of  battle — the  surrounding 
forest,  bathed  in  bloody  light,  returned  a  fiery  glare,  yet 
more  appalling  from  the  intense  darkness  of  the  night ;  and 
all  combined  made  up  a  time  of  awful  terror,  before  which 
the  stoutest  heart  quailed  and  quaked.  In  the  midst  of 
this  pandemonium  stood  the  youthful  hero,  like  a  living  rock, 
firm  and  collected,  rapid  and  decisive,  at  a  single  glance 
intuitively  determining  the  order  of  defence,  animating 
his  comrades  to  confidence  and  constancy,  and  by  the  irre 
sistible  force  of  example,  imparted  a  spirit  of  determined 
and  courageous  perseverance  even  to  the  weaker  sex.  The 
roof  of  the  block-house  was  thrown  off;  the  other  buildings 
were  kept  wet,  and  by  the  greatest  exertions  the  flames  kept 
under.  The  opening  made  in  the  line  of  the  defences  by 
the  burning  of  the  block-house,  was  supplied  by  a  temporary 
breastwork;  and  after  keeping  up  a  constant  fire  until 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Indians  retired 
The  loss  of  the  garrison,  in  this  affair,  was  only  one  man 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  359 

killed,  and  two  wounded.  That  of  the  Indians  was  very 
considerable. 

Captain  Taylor,  for  this  affair,  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  major  by  brevet.  It  was  the  first  brevet  conferred 
during  the  war  :  and  never  was  similar  reward  more  justly 
merited.  Major  Taylor  continued  actively  engaged  in  va- 
rious deparments  of  service  in  the  west,  constantly  extend- 
ing the  sphere  of  his  reputation  and  influence,  until  1814, 
when  he  was  placed  temporarily  at  the  head  of  the  troopa 
in  Missouri,  until  the  arrival  of  General  Howard,  the  com- 
manding officer ;  and  was  busily  employed  on  that  frontier 
till  the  month  of  August. 

In  October,  Major  Taylor  was  called  to  St.  Louis  by  the 
sudden  death  of  General  Howard ;  and  in  November,  accom- 
panied Colonel  Russel  several  hundred  miles  up  the  Missouri, 
to  relieve  a  small  settlement  much  exposed  to  Indian  depre- 
dations. In  December  he  was  transferred  to  Vincennes,  and 
assumed  the  command  of  the  troops  in  Indiana,  where  he 
remained  until  the  termination  of  the  war.  A  short  time 
before  the  conclusion  of  peace,_he  had  been  promoted  to  a 
majority  in  the  26th  regiment  of  infantry,  and  ordered  to 
join  the  regiment  at  Plattsburg :  but  when  the  army  was 
disbanded,  he  was  retained  on  the  peace  establishment  with 
only  the  rank  of  captain.  Declining  to  come  into  this  ar- 
rangement, he  resigned  his  commission,  and  retired  to  his 
farm  near  Louisville'. 

In  1816,  he  was  reinstated  in  the  army  with  his  original 
rank,  and  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Crawford,  at  the  mouth 
of  Fox  river,  which  empties  in  Green  Bay.  He  continued 
in  the  command  of  various  posts  in  the  west  until  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  in  1832,  when  he  was  again 
called  into  active  service.  In  1832,  he  was  promoted  to  the 


360  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

rank  of  colonel,  and  served  under  General  Atkinson  in  his 
various  campaigns  against  the  Indians.  It  in  scarcely  ne- 
cessary to  say,  that  in  this  service,  he  fully  sustained  his  high 
military  reputation.  He  commanded  the  regulars  in  the 
bloody  and  decisive  battle  of  the  Wisconsin,  which  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  Black  Hawk  and  the  Prophet,  and  the 
termination  of  the  war. 

In  1836,  Colonel  Taylor  was  ordered  to  Florida,  at  that 
time  th  3  scene  of  a  bloody  war  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Seminole  and  other  tribes  of  southern  Indians.  This 
war,  perhaps,  was  the  most  extraordinary  in  which  the  United 
States  was  ever  engaged.  It  had  been  protracted  from  year 
to  year  at  an  immense  expense  of  blood  and  treasure,  unsig- 
nalized  by  any  decided  advantage  ;  and  when  Colonel  Tay- 
lor was  transferred  to  that  theatre,  there  appeared  no  better 
prospect  of  its  termination  than  at  its  first  commencement. 
Our  best  and  bravest  officers  had  sunk  under  the  hardships 
of  a  service  in  which  no  glory  was  to  be  won,  and  which  pre- 
sented no  inducement  to  skill  or  courage,  but  patriotism.  In 
this  vexatious,  and  exhausting  service,  Colonel  Taylor  soon 
became  distinguished  for  zeal,  energy,  activity,  and  indomi- 
table hardihood.  The  uniform  policy  of  the  Indians  had  been 
to  avoid  battle ;  directing  their  operations  against  small  de- 
tachments and  isolated  individuals,  thus  destroying  our  forces 
in  detail,  without  incurring  the  hazard  of  a  defeat.  This 
plan  of  carrying  on  the  war,  Colonel  Taylor  resolved  to  ter- 
minate, and  bring  the  Indians  to  a  battle  at  all  hazards. 

Fortune  aided  him,  and  he  was  successful.  On  the  23rd 
of  December,  1837,  he  brought  the  Indians  to  a  general 
action  at  Okeechobee,  and  after  a  contest  of  about  three 
hours  routed  them.  The  hostile  forces  suffered  about 
equally  in  killed  and  wounded — but  the  Indians  did  not  re- 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  361 

cover  from  the  blow.  Colonel  Taylor's  conduct  in  this  battle 
was  duly  appreciated  by  the  government.  The  Secretary 
of  War,  Mr.  Poinsett,  gave  him  the  warmest  commendation 
in  his  report  to  Congress ;  and  he  was  immediately  pro- 
moted to  the  brevet  rank  of  brigadier-general,  with  the  chief 
command  in  Florida.  His  head-quarters  were  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Tampa  Bay.  From  this  point,  he  directed  the 
"  war  of  movements,"  so  difficult  and  discouraging  to  an 
ardent  officer,  until  1840,  when  he  was  relieved  by  General 
Armistead,  who  was  now  ordered  to  take  the  command  in 
Florida. 

General  Taylor  was  now  ordered  to  the  command  of  the 
southern  department  of  the  army,  including  the  states  of 
of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Georgia,  with  his 
head-quarters  at  Fort  Jessup,  in  Louisiana.  His  appoint- 
ment to  this  command  led  to  his  being  subsequently  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  "  Army  of  Occupation." 

It  is  foreign  from  this  work  to  discuss  the  causes  of  the 
war  with  Mexico,  in  which  General  Taylor  so  remarkably 
distinguished  himself.  His  connection  with  it  was  simply 
that  of  a  military  commander  acting  under  authority,  which 
it  was  his  duty  to  respect. 

The  army  under  General  Taylor  occupied  a  position  at 
Corpus  Christi,  west  of  the  Nueces,  as  early  as  August, 
1845,  having  been  ordered  to  take  a  position  between  the 
river  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  and  to  repel  any  invasion 
of  the  Texan  territory,  which  might  be  attempted  by  the 
Mexican  forces.  The  army  occupied  this  position  from 
August,  1845,  until  the  llth  of  March,  1846,  when  it  re- 
moved westward,  and  on  the  20th  of  that  month  reached 
the  Colorado,  where  some  disposition  to  resist  its  progress 
being  evinced  by  a  Mexican  force,  the  army  was  formed  into 


362 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


line  of  battle.  A  road  was  then  opened  down  the  beach 
of  the  river ;  and  while  it  was  in  progress,  the  enemy  was 
notified  by  General  Taylor,  that  when  it  was  completed  he 
should  cross  the  river  and  fire  upon  any  one  who  appeared 
in  arms  to  oppose  his  march.  The  artillery  was  placed  so 
as  to  cover  the  ford,  and  the  port-fires  were  lighted.  Gene- 
ral Mejia,  aid  to  the  Mexican  commander,  now  arrived  with 
a  letter  to  General  Taylor,  apprising  him  that  if  the  Ame- 
rican army  should  cross  the  Colorado,  it  would  be  consi- 
dered a  declaration  of  war,  and  -would  immediately  be 
followed  by  actual  hostilities. 

The  crossing  took  place  nevertheless ;  and  that  too  at  a 
point  where  an  excellent  opportunity  was  presented  of  suc- 
cessfully resisting  the  advance  of  the  Americans.  On  the 
22d,  the  army  advanced  across  the  prairie  in  the  direction 
of  Matamoras  ;  but  General  Taylor,  hearing  that  the  Mexi- 
cans held  Point  Isabel,  halted  on  the  24th,  and  leaving  the 
army  under  the  command  of  General  Worth,  advanced  to 
that  place  with  the  dragoons,  occupied  it,  and  received  from 
steamboats,  which  arrived  opportunely  at  the  same  time,  a 
quantity  of  supplies  for  the  army. 

Passing  by  the  spot  where  subsequently  the  battle  of  Re- 
saca  de  la  Palma  was  fought,  and  which  General  Taylor 
did  not  fail  to  point  out  as  a  favorable  position  for  a  fight, 
the  army  arrived  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
opposite  Matamoras,  at  noon  of  the  28th  of  March.  Gene- 
ral Worth  and  his  staff  were  now  ordered  to  cross  the  river 
to  Matamoras,  bearing  despatches  from  General  Taylor 
to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Mexicans  and  the  civil 
authorities.  They  were  met  by  a  Mexican  party,  bearing 
a  white  flag,  who  landed  on  the  eastern  bank ;  and  an  in- 
terview with  the  authorities  was  requested  by  General  Worth. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  363 

After  some  delay  he  was  invited  to  cross  the  river.  On 
reaching  the  right  bank,  he  was  met  by  General  Vega  and 
some  officers.  The  reception  of  the  despatches  was  declined. 
An  interview  with  the  American  consul  at  Matamoras  was 
demanded  and  refused,  and  General  Worth  returned. 

General  Taylor  now  commenced  throwing  up  intrench- 
ments,  while  the  Mexicans  were  evincing  decisive  symptoms 
of  hostility.  Several  attempts  of  American  soldiers  to  de- 
sert were  defeated  by  shooting  the  deserters.  One  was 
killed  by  a  sentinel  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards,  after 
swimming  the  river  and  commencing  his  ascent  on  the  op 
posite  bank.  Some,  however,  succeeded,  and  were  ver^ 
hospitably  received  in  Matamoras. 

Soon  after,  a  proclamation  issued  by  General  Ampudia, 
offering  inducements  to  the  troops  of  General  Taylor  to  de- 
sert, fell  into  the  hands  of  the  American  commander.  The 
proclamation  was  ineffectual. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  a  small  intrenchment  was  raised  for 
the  reception  of  cannon  expected  from  Point  Isabel.  The 
main  intrenchment,  Fort  Brown,  meantime,  was  in  progress, 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  Mansfield,  of  the  engineers. 
It  had  six  bastion  fronts,  and  was  capable  of  accommodating 
Sve  regiments  of  infantry. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  Colonel  Cross,  the  deputy  quarter- 
master-general, was  murdered  by  the  Mexicans  while  taking 
a  ride  near  the  American  camp.  His  body  was  not  discovered 
till  the  21st,  and  it  is  still  somewhat  doubtful  by  what 
particular  party  of  the  enemy  he  met  his  fate. 

On  the  llth  of  April,  General  Ampudia  arrived  at  Mata- 
moras ;  and  on  the  12th,  he  sent  a  flag  with  a  communica- 
tion to  General  Taylor,  requiring  him  to  break  up  his  camp 
and  retire  beyond  the  Nueces  within  twenty-fotir  hours 


364  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

General  Taylor  replied,  stating  his  instructions,  and  hiii 
determination  to  abide  by  them.  The  murder  of  Lieutenant 
Porter,  immediately  after  this,  tended  to  exasperate  the  Ame- 
ricans. Several  communications  passed  between  General 
Taylor  and  the  Mexican  general,  Arista,  who  had  now 
taken  command  of  the  army  at  Matamoras. 

Point  Isabel  had  been  made  the  depot  for  military  stores 
for  the  Army  of  Occupation.  The  Mexicans  had  already 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  intercepted  the  communication 
between  this  post  and  Fort  Brown,  and  General  Taylor  waa 
engaged  in  making  preparations  for  re-opening  the  commu- 
nication between  the  two  posts.  Teams  despatched  from 
Fort  Isabel  to  Fort  Brown  had  been  compelled  to  return, 
and  Captain  Walker,  of  the  Texan  Rangers,  who  went  out 
on  the  28th  to  reconnoitre,  was  driven  back  to  Fort  Isabel, 
with  the  loss  of  some  of  his  party.  He  reported  having  en- 
countered a  force  of  the  enemy,  which  he  estimated  at  fifteen 
hundred.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  started  on  the  29th, 
with  a  message  from  Major  Munroe  to  General  Taylor,  and 
after  a  series  of  "hair-breadth  escapes"  succeeded  in 
delivering  it. 

After  receiving  this  message,  General  Taylor  (May  1st, 
1846)  took  up  his  line  of  march  for  Point  Isabel,  with  the 
main  body  of  the  army,  leaving  a  regiment  of  infantry  and 
two  companies  of  artillery  at  Fort  Byown,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Brown.  The  Mexicans,  who  had  very  pru- 
dently refrained  from  attacking  the  army  while  General 
Taylor  was  present,  commenced,  on  the  3d  of  May,  a  furious 
fire,  on  the  small  force  left  in  Fort  Brown,  from  a  battery 
of  seven  guns.  The  fire  was  instantly  returned  with  spirit, 
and  the  battery  was  silenced  in  twenty  minutes  after  the 
Americans  commenced  firing.  Another  attack  was  com 


ZACHART  TAYLOR.  365 

meneed  with  shot  and  shells  from  another  battery,  killing  a 
sergeant,  but  effecting  no  other  damage. 

The  firing  at  Fort  Brown  being  heard  by  General  Taylor, 
he  despatched  Captains  May  and  Walker  to  obtain  intelli- 
gence from  the  fort ;  and  by  this  means  received  intelligence 
that  Major  Brown  was  in  a  condition  to  maintain  his  post. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  May,  Fort  Brown  was  aa 
sailed  by  a  heavy  force  of  the  enemy  on  the  rear,  where  the 
Mexicans  had  placed  a  strong  battery  during  the  preceding 
night.  At  the  same  time  the  battle  was  renewed  from  Mata 
moras,  and  the  gallant  fellows  in  the  intrenchment  were  thus 
exposed  to  a  galling  cross  fire,  with  the  prospect  of  a  speedy 
assault.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  they  returned  the  fire 
on  both  sides,  maintaining  the  unequal  contest  with  perfect 
coolness,  until  the  firing  of  the  enemy  ceased.  On  the  even- 
ing of  this  day,  Major  Brown,  in  obedience  to  orders  which 
he  had  received  from  General  Taylor,  fired  his  eighteen- 
pounders  at  stated  intervals,  as  a  signal  that  he  was  sur- 
rounded. On  the  forenoon  of  the  6th,  Major  Brown,  the 
gallant  commander  of  the  fort,  was  mortally  wounded  by  a 
shell  from  one  of  the  Mexican  batteries.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  command  by  Captain  Hawkins,  who,  at  half  past  four 
o'clock,  was  summoned  to  surrender  the  fort,  and,  of  course, 
refused.  The  firing  was  then  renewed  and  continued  for  the 
rest  of  the  day. 

At  daylight  of  the  7th,  the  firing  was  renewed ;  but  soon 
after  suddenly  ceased.  It  was  again  renewed  and  continued 
for  six  hours.  The  firing  at  Palo  Alto,  where  General  Tay- 
lor was  engaged  with  the  Mexicans,  was  then  heard  at  Fort 
Brown,  with  what  mixed  emotions  the  reader  may  conceive. 
The  Americans  welcomed  the  sound  with  a  tremendous 
shout.  The  enemy  recommenced  the  bombardment  with 


366  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

redoubied  energy ;  but  the  continuous  and  exulting  shout 
of  the  Americans  finally  silenced  the  bombardment.     A» 
sunset  a  Mexican  deserter  brought  the  news  of  the  victory 
of  Palo  Alto;  and  the  wearied   garrison  felt  that  their 
labors  and  dangers  were  nearly  closed. 

But  General  Taylor  expressed  his  determination  to  marc 
from  Point  Isabel  to  Fort  Brown,  and  to  fight  any  force  of 
the  enemy  that  might  oppose  his  progress.  The  following 
letter,  from  an  eye-witness  of  his  operations,  gives  a  clear 
view  of  the  battles  of  the  8th  and  9th  of  May,  9  A  the 
succeeding  events. 

By  the  last  departure  I  wrote  to  you  briefly  of  *he  opera 
tions  of  the  army  up  to  that  time,  of  the  bom  ardment  of 
the  fort  opposite  Matarnoras,  and  the  moveme  <t  of  General 
Taylor  with  the  main  body  to  this  place,  for  the  purpose  of 
strengthening  its  defences.  Having  effected  this,  he  marched, 
without  waiting  for  reinforcements,  on  the  evening  of  the 
7th ;  and  on  the  8th,  at  two  o'clock,  found  the  enemy  in 
position,  in  front  of  a  chapparal,  which  lies  opposite  to  the 
timber  of  a  stream  called  Palo  Alto. 

The  train  was  closed  up,  the  troops  filled  their  canteens, 
and  General  Taylor  promptly  formed  his  line  of  battery. 
The  first  and  only  important  movement  attempted  by  the 
enemy,  was  by  a  detachment  of  their  cavalry  to  make  a  detour 
around  a  clump  of  chapparal  on  our  right,  and  attack  the 
train.  Captain  Walker,  of  the  Texas  Rangers,  promptly 
reported  this,  and  the  5th  infantry  was  detached  to  meet 
it,  which  it  did  handsomely,  receiving  the  lancers  in  square, 
and  .driving  them  by  a  well-delivered  volley.  The  cavalry 
then  pushed  on  again  for  the  train,  and  found  the  3rd  in> 
fan  try  advancing  in  column  of  divisions  upon  them.  Thej 
thjn  retired,  and  as  they  repassed  the  5th,  they  received  a 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR. 


36' 


fire  from  Lieutenant  Ridgely's  two  pieces,  which  had  ar- 
rived at  the  nick  of  time.  Two  field-pieces,  which  were 
following  the  enemy's  cavalry,  were  also  driven  back  with 
them. 

Meanwhile  the  enemy's  left  was  riddled  by  the  eighteen- 
pounders,  which  slowly  advanced  up  the  road — Duncan's 
battery  on  the  left,  neglecting  the  enemy's  guns,  threw 
their  fire  into  the  Mexican  infantry,  and  swept  whole  ranks 
The  8th  infantry  on  the  left  suffered  severely  from  the 
enemy's  fire.  The  grass  was  set  on  fire  at  the  end  of  an 
hour's  cannonading,  and  obscured  the  enemy's  position 
completely,  and  an  interval  of  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
occurred.  During  this  period  our  right,  now  resting  on 
the  eighteen-pounders,  advanced  along  the  wood,  to  the 
point  originally  occupied  by  the  Mexican  left,  and  when  the 
smoke  had  cleared  away  sufficiently  to  show  the  enemy,  the 
fire  was  resumed  with  increased  rapidity  and  execution. 
Duncan  divided  his  battery  'on  the  left,  giving  a  section  to 
Lieutenant  Roland,  to  operate  in  front,  and  with  the  other 
he  advanced  beyond  the  burning  grass,  (which  was  three 
feet  high,  and  the  flames  rolled  ten  feet  in  the  strong  breeze,) 
and  seized  the  prolongation  of  the  enemy's  right,  enfilading 
that  flank  completely.  Night  found  the  two  armies  in  this 
position. 

On  the  9th,  the  general  packed  the  heavy  train,  collected 
the  enemy's  wounded  in  hospital,  buried  their  dead,  arranged 
our  own  wounded  (among  whom  we  have  to  regret  the  sudden 
death  of  Major  Ringgold,  and  probably  Captain  Page,)  and 
moved  on  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  on  the  Matamoras  .road. 
They  had  taken  post  in  the  chapparal,  the  second  time,  oc- 
cupying the  bed  of  a  stream  called  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  with 
ijjeir  artillery  on  the  road  at  the  crossing.  The  goner al 


LIVES  OF  THB  PR  KSIl>K3rTS. 
\ 


brough.  up  his  troops  by  battalions,  and  posted  diem,  with 
brief  orders  to  find  die  enemy  with  the  bayonet,  and  placed 
the  artillery  where  they  could  act  in  the  road. 

The  dragoons  were  held  in  reserve,  and  as  soon  as  tike 
adrance  of  oar  fine  had  uncovered  the  Mexican  batteries, 
General  Taylor  told  Captain  May  that  hit  time  had  come : 
"Here's  the  enemy's  battery,  sir,  take  it,  noient  voU**." 
May  dashed  upon  it  with  his  squadron,  and  lost  one-third  of 
it ;  bat  he  cleared  die  battery  and  captured  its  commander, 
General  Vega,  in  the  act  of  raising  a  port-fire,  to  fire  a  piece 
himself.  May  took  his  sword,  and  brought  the  general  off. 
The  enemy  remanned  the  guns,  and  lost  them  a  second  time 
to  die  5th  infantry. 

Captain  Barbour.  of  the  2d  infantry,  with  his  single  com- 
pany, and  a  few  from  the  5th,  who  joined  him  in  die  chap- 
paral.  threw  his  back  against  a  clomp  of  boshes,  and  received 
and  gaOantly  repelled  a  charge  of  cavalry.  Captain  Duncan. 
with  his  battery,  did  terrible  execution .  Lieutenant  Ridgely 
was  also  amongst  the  foremost.  In  troth,  it  was  a  series  of 
brilliant  skirmishes,  and  heavy  shocks,  in  which  fifteen  hun- 
dred fighting  men  met  six  thousand  hand  to  hand — over- 
whelmed them  with  the  precision  of  their  volleys,  and  the 
steady  coolness  of  the  bayonet,  and  drove  them  from  the  field 
with  die  loss  of  their  artillery,  baggage,  pack-mules,  fixed 
ammunition,  and  near  two  thousand  stand  of  muskets. 

Fort  Brown,  meantime,  had  been  summoned,  with  true 
Mexican  duplicity,  and  told  that  Taylor  was  flying.  The 
Matamoras  newspapers  and  official  bulletins  called  him  a  cow- 
ardly tailor.  In  answer  to  the  summons,  the  officers  plunged 
their  swords  in  the  parapet,  and  replied  "  to  the  hilt."  Up 
to  the  evening  of  the  9th,  fifteen  hundred  shells  and  three 
thousand  shot  had  beec  thrown,  and  the  only  loss  was  that 


IACHART  ^ATIOK. 

• 

of  the  brave  commander,  Major  Brown,  and  one  sergeant 
and  one  private  killed,  and  eleren  wounded. 

The  general  returns  to  the  army  to-night,  and  will,  areas 
the  river  to-morrow  or  next  day.  The  fort  win  be  increased 
in  guns,  and  especially  provided  with  mortars,  which  wiD 
bring  the  town  to  terms  at  once.  The  nary  wOl  co-operate 
at  the  month  of  the  river,  and  steam-boats  begin  to  carry 
supplies  by  that  route. 

General  Taylor  has  just  given  General  Vega  a  letter  to 
General  Gaines.  and  a  letter  of  credit  on  his  factor.  9* 
officers  here  and  in  the  main  body  vied  with  their  com- 
mander in  delicate  attentions  to  a  brave  and  accomplished 
enemy,  who  won  their  admiration  on  the  field,  and  was  taken 
like  a  soldier,  in  roll  harness,  and  fighting  gallantly  to  the 
last.  Our  loss  about  thirty  killed,  and  one  hundred  and 
forty  wounded. 

Mexican  loss  at  Palo  Alto,  set  down  by  themselves  at  four 
hundred  and  fifty ;  at  Besaca  de  la  Pabna,  two  thousand 
missing-  Since  the  battle,  our  dragoons  have  been  exchanged 
grade  for  grade;  and  the  Mexican  wounded  sent  over  to 
Matamoras. 

On  the  morning  after  the  battle  of  Resaca  de  la  Pahna. 
General  Taylor  with  his  usual  humanity,  sent  to  Matamoras 
for  Mexican  surgeons  to  attend  their  wounded,  and  for  men 
to  bury  their  dead :  and  the  same  day  was  occupied  by  the 
Americans  in  burying  their  dead. 

On  the  llth  of  May,  an  exchange  of  prisoners  took  place ; 
and  General  Taylor  started  for  Point  Isabel,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  communicating  with  Commodore  Conner,  command- 
ing the  American  squadron  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  who 
sailed  to  Brasos  Santiago,  in  order  to  render  aid  to  the 
general. 


370 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


The  13th  an  14th  of  May  were  spent  by  General  Taylor 
in  organizing  and  despatching  a  force  to  capture  Barita,  a 
town  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  on  the  Mexican  side, 
where  the  enemy  was  said  to  be  concentrating  the  remains 
of  his  shattered  and  vanquished  army.  Commodore  Conner 
ordered  a  part  of  his  fleet  to  co-operate,  and  the  place  was 
quietly  taken  on  the  15th,  the  inhabitants  fleeing  on  the 
approach  of  the  Americans. 

The  next  operation  was  the  capture  of  Matamoras. 
Every  thing  was  ready  for  an  attack  on  the  town,  on  the 
evening  of  the  16th.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th,  Genera) 
Taylor  commenced  crossing  the  river.  No  resistance  was 
offered  by  the  Mexicans  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  it  is 
Baid  many  of  them  assisted  in  landing  the  boats.  Arista  re- 
treated to  Reynosa,  where  he  encamped,  waiting  a  rein- 
forcement from  Parades. 

General  Taylor  although  in  possession  of  Matamoras, 
found  himself  in  no  condition  to  advance  further  into  the 
enemy's  country.  He  was  deficient  not  only  in  troops, 
but  in  supplies  and  the  means  of  transportation.  It  became 
necessary,  therefore,  for  him  to  remain  at  this  post  through 
the  greater  part  of  the  summer,  waiting  for  the  necessary 
means  of  prosecuting  the  invasion. 

In  the  beginning  of  June,  General  Taylor's  force  did  not 
exceed  nine  thousand  men,  including  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  stationed  at  Barita,  and  five  hundred  at  Point  Isabel. 
Reinforcements  were  coming  in  slowly  from  the  different 
states  of  the  union,  and,  although  he  was  anticipating  the 
arrival  of  a  sufficient  force  to  warrant  his  advance  towards 
Monterey,  where  the  enemy  was  concentrating  his  forces, 
neither  men  nor  steam-boats  had  yet  arrived  sufficient  to  en- 
able him  even  to  fix  the  time  of  his  departure.  By  the  mi- 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  371 

litary  arrangements  which  followed  the  re-organization  of  the 
government,  General  Arevalo  was  sent  to  Monterey,  and 
Bravo  to  Mexico,  while  Mejia  was  placed  in  the  command 
of  the  northern  army,  and  Ampudia  was  ordered  to  San  Luis 
Potosi.  Monterey,  being  considered  the  most  probahle  scene 
of  General  Taylor's  operations,  was  strongly  fortified  and 
furnished  with  provisions  and  munitions  of  war.  Before  the 
end  of  June,  General  Taylor  was  strongly  reinforced  by  the 
arrival  of  numerous  bodies  of  fresh  volunteers  from  various 
parts  of  the  union  ;  but  his  means  of  transportation  were  still 
deficient. 

In  the  meantime  Captain  McCulloch,  with  the  Texan 
rangers,  had  seized  and  occupied  the  Mexican  ports  of  Rey- 
nosa,  Camargo.  and  Mier,  without  resistance  on  the  part  of 
the  enemy.  It  was  not  until  the  5th  of  August,  nearly  three 
months  after  the  battle  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  that  General 
Taylor  was  able  to  take  up  his  line  of  March  from  Mata- 
rnoras  to  Camargo.  On  arriving  at  that  place,  General 
Worth  was  detached  to  San  Juan,  while  Captain  Wall  oc- 
cupied Reynosa,  and  General  Twiggs  had  been  left  in  com- 
mand of  Matamoras.  Towards  the  end  of  August,  General 
Worth  was  ordered  to  advance  to  Seralvo,  and  there  to 
await  further  orders.  From  this  port  he  sent  advices  to 
General  Taylor  on  the  5th  of  September,  that  Monterey  had 
just  been  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  three  thousand  men 
under  General  Ampudia,  thus  increasing  the  garrison  to  four 
thousand.  This  important  information  determined  General 
Taylor  to  advance  immediately  and  attack  Monterey.  He 
accordingly  took  up  his  march  towards  Seralvo  on  the  7th, 
leaving  General  Patterson  in  command  of  all  the  forces  sta- 
tioned between  Camargo  and  Matamoras  On  his  arrival 
at  'Seralvo,  instead  of  waiting  for  further  reinforcements  01 


372  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

fresh  orders  before  attacking  so  formidable  a  fort  with  sc 
light  a  force,  he  pushed  forward  for  Monterey  with  his  main 
body,  consisting  of  but  little  more  than  six  thousand  men. 
On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  September,  the  army  encamped 
at  the  "Walnut  Springs,"  within  three  miles  of  the  city  of 
Monterey.  Here  they  could  survey  the  prospect  before 
fchem — Monterey  seated  in  a  beautiful  valley,  bosomed  among 
lofty  and  imposing  mountains  on  the  north,  west  and  south, 
and  open  to  a  plain  on  the  east,^  fortified  with  thick  stone 
walls  in  the  old  Spanish  fashion  of  another  century,  with  all 
the  apparatus  of  ditches  and  bastions,  and  lowering  upon 
them  with  deep  mouthed  cannon.  From  their  elevated  po- 
sition the  Americans  could  see  in  part  what  they  had  already 
learned  from  spies  and  deserters,  that  the  flat-roofed  stone 
houses  of  the  city  itself,  had  been  converted  into  fortifications. 
Every  street  was  barricaded,  and  every  housetop  was  bris- 
tling with  musketry.  On  one  side  the  Americans  could  see 
the  Bishop's  palace,  a  strong  post,  well  fortified ;  on  the  other, 
redoubts  well  manned ;  and  in  the  rear  of  all,  a  river.  Such 
was  the  city  which  was  destined  after  three  days  of  desperate 
fighting,  to  surrender  its  garrison  of  ten  thousand  men,  its 
castles,  redoubts,  cannon,  and  munitions  of  war,  to  an  Ame- 
rican army  of  seven  thousand  men,  inspirited  by  the  guiding 
genius  of  Taylor. 

After  reconnoitering  the  defences  of  the  city,  General  Tay- 
lor detached  General  Worth  to  gain  a  position  on  the  Saltillo 
road  ;  and  the  next  day,  the  21st  of  September,  while  Worth 
advanced  and  gained  a  good  situation,  the  Commander-in- 
chief  pushed  the  attack  vigorously  against  the  centre  and 
left  of  the  town.  The  firing  on  both  sides  was  tremenduous 
The  assailants  displayed  the  greatest  valor.  By  the  evening 
General  Taylor  had  obtained  a  foot-hold  in  the  town. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  378 

The  22d  passed  without  any  operations  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city.  The  Mexicans  gradually  withdrew  from  that  por- 
tion. On  the  same  day,  Worth  attacked  and  carried  the 
Bishop's  Palace  and  the  adjacent  batteries.  On  the  23d,  both 
divisions  pressed  to  the  attack,  and  the  gallant  Worth,  over- 
coming the  greatest  obstacles  advanced  far  into  the  town. 
The  next  morning,  propositions  were  made  for  a  capitulation, 
which  was  at  length  arranged.  Monterey  and  the  material  of 
war,  with  certain  small  exceptions  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Americans.  Ampudia  and  his  force  were  allowed  to  retire. 
The  entire  loss  of  the  assailants  was  one  hundred  and  twenty 
men  killed,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight  men  wounded. 
The  Mexican  loss  was  supposed  to  be  much  greater. 

The  achievement  was  glorious,  and  the  gallant  commander 
and  his  troops  deserved  the  applause  they  received  from 
their  countrymen.  We  doubt  whether  such  a  fortress  was 
ever  before  taken  vrith  such  means  as  those  at  the  command 
of  General  Taylor. 

After  establishing  his  head-quarters  at  Monterey,  General 
Taylor  detached  Brigadier-General  Worth  with  twelve  hun- 
dred men  and  eight  pieces  of  artillery  to  Saltillo  ;  Brigadier- 
General  Wool  and  the  column  under  his  command,  two  thous- 
and four  hundred  strong,  with  six  pieces  of  artillery,  were 
ordered  to  occupy  the  town  of  Parras.  Saltillo  and  Parras 
were  occupied  by  the  Americans  without  any  opposition,  the 
enemy  having  fallen  back  as  far  as  San  Luis  Potosi.  Santa 
Anna  had  now  been  recalled  to  Mexico,  and  placed  at  the 
head  of  affairs,  and  Parades  deposed.  Santa  Anna  was  no- 
minally commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican  armies,  really 
dictator.  He  was  raising  a  formidable  army  to  resist  the 
further  advance  of  General  Taylor.  Before  December,  he 
had  succeeded  in  raising  twenty  thousand  men,  and  coucen- 


374 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


trating  them  at  San  Luis  Potosi,  which  he  strongly  fortified, 
and  filled  with  military  stores.  After  awaiting  the  advance 
of  this  formidable  force  for  some  time,  General  Taylor 
determined  to  meet  them  on  their  own  ground. 

General  Taylor  was  now  superseded  in  the  chief  command 
of  the  Army  of  Occupation,  by  Major-General  Winfield 
Scott,  who  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  land 
forces  in  Mexico,  and  at  the  various  posts  on  the  Rio  Grande 
The  theatre  of  Scott's  operations  was  different  from  that  of 
Taylor's.  His  main  object  was  the  reduction  of  the  city  of 
Vera  Cruz,  and  the  fort  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  by  a  combined 
land  and  sea  force.  Vera  Cruz  being  the  key  of  the  main 
road  to  the  capital,  General  Scott  thought  that  its  reduction 
would  compel  the  Mexicans  to  sue  for  peace.  To  effect  this 
object  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  draw  from  General 
Taylor  the  main  body  of  his  regular  forces. 

Not  only  were  nearly  all  the  regulars  withdrawn  from  him 
but  his  noble  coadjutor  General  Worth  was  detached  and 
ordered  to  march  at  the  head  of  them  from  his  post  at  Sal 
tillo  towards  Vera  Cruz,  while  Taylor  was  advised  to  fall 
back  on  Monterey  and  await  the  arrival  of  fresh  recruits, 
volunteers  who  were  destined  to  take  the  place  of  the  vete- 
ran warriors  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  Monterey. 
His  address  to  these  veterans  was  full  of  sensibility. 

On  reaching  Monterey,  his  regular  force  was  six  hundred, 
including  May's  dragoons.  In  February,  he  had  received 
reinforcements  raising  his  army  to  nearly  six  thousand  men. 
Anticipating  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  Santa  Anna,  to 
possess  himself  of  the  line  of  posts  between  himself  and 
Matamoras,  he  determined  to  advance  and  fight  a  pitched 
battle  with  him.  Accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  February,  we 
find  him  encamped  at  Agua  Nueva,  eighteen  miles  south  of 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  375 

Saltillo,  and  sending  out  videttes,  who  return  with  intelligence 
that  Santa  Anna  is  within  thirty  miles  of  his  position,  rapidly 
advancing  with  some  twenty  thousand  men  against  his  forlorn 
hope  of  five  thousand  four  hundred. 

On  receiving  this  intelligence,  General  Taylor  determined 
to  choose  his  own  battle  ground,  and  accordingly  fell  back 
to  an  admirable  position  in  front  of  Buena  Vista,  seven  miles 
south  of  Saltillo.  The  following  extracts,  from  the  dispatch 
of  the  commander  himself,  will  give  the  best  general  view  of 
the  battle. 

The  army  broke  up  its  camp,  and  marched  at  noon  on  the 
21st,  encamping  at  the  new  position  a  little  in  front  of  the 
hacienda  of  Buena  Vista.  With  a  small  force  I  proceeded 
to  Saltillo,  to  make  some  necessary  arrangements  for  the 
defence  of  the  town,  leaving  Brigadier-General  Wool  in  the 
immediate  command  of  the  troops.  Before  these  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d,  I  was 
idvised  that  the  enemy  was  in  sight,  advancing.  Upon 
reaching  the  ground,  it  was  found  that  his  cavalry  advance 
was  in  our  front,  having  marched  from  Encarnacion,  as  we 
have  since  learned,  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  day  previous, 
and  driving  in  a  mounted  force  left  at  Agua  Nueva  to  cover 
the  removal  of  the  public  stores.  Our  troops  were  in  posi- 
tion, occupying  a  line  of  remarkable  strength.  The  fea- 
tures of  the  ground  were  such  as  nearly  to  paralyze  the  ar- 
tillery and  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  while  his  infantry  could 
not  derive  all  the  advantages  of  its  numerical  superiority. 
In  this  position  we  prepared  to  receive  him. 

At  eleven  o'clock  I  received  from  General  Santa  Anoa  a 
summons  to  surrender  at  discretion,  which,  with  a  copy  of 
my  reply,  I  have  already  transmitted.  The  enemy  still  fore- 
bore  his  attack,  evidently  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  rear 


376  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS 

columns,  which  could  be  distinctly  seen  b)  our  look-outs  as 
they  approached  the  field.  A  demonstration  made  on  his 
left  caused  me  to  detach  the  2d  Kentucky  regiment  and  a 
section  of  artillery  to  our  right,  in  which  position  they  bivou- 
acked for  the  night.  In  the  mean  time  the  Mexican  light 
troops  had  engaged  ours  on  the  extreme  left  (composed  of 
parts  of  the  Kentucky  and  Arkansas  cavalry  dismounted, 
and  a  rifle  battalion  from  the  Indiana  brigade,  under  Major 
Gorman,  the  whole  commanded  by  Colonel  Marshall,)  and 
kept  up  a  sharp  fire,  climbing  the  mountain  side,  and  appa- 
rently endeavoring  to  gain  our  flank.  Three  piece  of  Cap- 
tain Washington's  battery  had  been  detached  to  the  left,  and 
were  supported  by  the  2d  Indiana  regiment.  An  occasional 
shell  was  thrown  by  the  enemy  into  this  part  of  our  line,  but 
without  effect. 

The  skirmishing  of  the  light  troops  was  kept  up  with 
trifling  loss  on  our  part  until  dark,  when  I  became  convinced 
that  no  serious  attack  would  be  made  before  the  moining, 
and  returned,  with  the  Mississippi  regiment  and  squadron 
of  2d  dragoons,  to  Saltillo.  The  troops  bivouacked  without 
fires,  and  laid  upon  their  arms.  A  body  of  cavalry,  some 
fifteen  hundred  strong,  had  been  visible  all  day  in  rear  of 
the  town,  having  entered  the  valley  through  a  narrow  pass 
east  of  the  city.  This  cavalry,  commanded  by  General 
Minon,  had  evidently  been  thrown  in  our  rear  to  break  up 
and  harass  our  retreat,  and  perhaps  make  some  attempt 
against  the  town,  if  practicable.  Having  made  dispositions 
for  the  protection  of  the  rear,  I  proceeded  on  the  morning 
of  th«  23d  to  Buena  Vista,  ordering  forward  all  the  other 
available  troops.  The  action  had  commenced  before  my 
arrival  on  the  field.  During  the  evening  and  night  of  the 
22d,  the  enemy  had  thrown  a  body  of  light  troops  on  the 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  377 

mountain  side  with  the  purpose  of  outflanking  our  left ;  and 
it  was  here  that  the  action  of  the  23d  commenced  at  an 
early  hour.  Our  riflemen,  under  Colonel  Marshall,  who 
had  been  reinforced  by  three  companies  under  Major  Trail, 
2d  Illinois  volunteers,  maintained  their  ground  handsomely 
against  a  greatly  superior  force,  holding  themselves  under 
cover,  and  using  their  weapons  with  deadly  effect.  About 
eight  o'clock  a  strong  demonstration  was  made  against  the 
centre  of  our  position,  a  heavy  column  moving  along  the  road. 
This  force  was  soon  dispersed  by  a  few  rapid  and  well-directed 
shots  from  Captain  Washington's  battery.  In  the  mean  time 
the  enemy  was  concentrating  a  large  force  of  infantry  and 
cavalry  under  cover  of  the  ridges,  with  the  obvious  intention 
of  forcing  our  left,  which  was  posted  on  an  extensive  .platemi. 
The  2d  Indiana  and  2d  Illinois  regiments  formed  this  part 
of  our  line,  the  former  covering  three  pieces  of  light  artillery, 
under  the  orders  of  Captain  O'Brien — Brigadier-General 
Lane  being  in  the  immediate  command.  Captain  O'Brien 
found  it  impossible  to  retain  his  position  without  support,  but 
was  only  able  to  withdraw  two  of  his  pieces,  all  the  horses 
and  cannoneers  of  the  third  piece  being  killed  or  disabled. 
Colonel  Bissell's  ~egiment,  2d  Illinois,  which  had  been 
joined  by  a  section  o£  Captain  Sherman's  battery,  had  be- 
come completely  outflanked,  and  was  compelled  to  fall  back, 
being  entirely  unsupported.  The  enemy  was  now  pouring 
masses  of  infantry  and  cavalry  along  the  base  of  the  mountain 
on  our  left,  and  was  gaining  our  rear  in  great  force. 

At  this  moment  I  arrired  upon  the  field.  The  Mississippi 
regiment  had  been  directed  to  the  left  before  reaching  the 
position,  and  immediately  came  into  action  against  the 
Mexican  infantry  which  had  turned  our  flank.  Discovering 
that  the  enemy  was  heavily  pressing  upon  the  Mississipp' 


3T8 


1IVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 


regiment,  tue  3d  Indiana  regiment,  under  Colonel  Lane, 
was  despatched  to  strengthen  that  part  of  our  line,  which 
formed  a  crotchet  perpendicular  to  the  first  line  of  battle. 
At  the  same  time,  Lieutenant  Kilburn,  with  a  piece  of 
Captain  Bragg's  battery,  was  directed  to  support  the  infantry 
there  engaged.  The  action  was  for  a  long  time  warmly 
sustained  at  that  point — the  enemy  making  several  efforts 
both  with  infantry  and  cavalry  against  our  line,  and  being 
always  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  I  had  placed  all  the 
regular  cavalry  and  Captain  Pike's  squadron  of  Arkansas 
horse  under  the  orders  of  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  May, 
with  directions  to  hold  in  check  the  enemy's  column,  still 
advancing  to  the  rear  along  the  base  of  the  uiountain,  which 
was  done  in  conjunction  with  the  Kentucky  and  Arkansas 
cavalry,  under  Colonels  Marshall  and  Yell.  In  the  mean 
time  our  left,  which  was  strongly  threatened  by  a  superior 
force,  was  farther  strengthened  by  the  detachment  of  Cap- 
tain Bragg's,  and  a  portion  of  Captain  Sherman's  batteries 
to  that  quarter.  The  squadron  of  the  1st  dragoons,  under 
Lieutenant  Rucker,  was  now  ordered  up  the  deep  ravine 
which  these  corps  were  endeavoring  to  cross,  in  order  to 
charge  and  disperse  them.  The  squadron  proceeded  to  tht 
point  indicated,  but  could  not  accomplish  the  object,  being 
exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  from  a  battery  established  to  cover 
the  retreat  of  those  corps. 

While  the  squadron  was  detached  on  this  service,  a  large 
body  of  the  enemy  was  observed  to  concentrate  on  our  ex- 
treme left,  apparently  with  the  view  of  making  a  descent 
upon  the  hacienda  of  Buena  Vista,  where  our  train  and  bag- 
gage were  deposited.  Lieutenant-Colonel  May  was  ordered 
to  the  support  of  that  point,  with  two  pieces  of  Captain 
Sherman's  battery,  under  Lieutenant  Reynolds.  In  the  mean 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  379 

time,  the  scattered  forces  near  the  hacienda,  composed  in 
part  of  Majors  Trail  and  Gorman's  commands,  had  been 
to  some  extent  organized  under  the  advice  of  Major  Monroe, 
chief  of  artillery,  with  the  assistance  of  Major  Morrison 
volunteer  staff,  and  were  posted  to  defend  the  position.  Before 
our  cavalry  had  reached  the  hacienda,  that  of  the  enemy  had 
made  ita  attack ;  having  been  handsomely  met  by  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Arkansas  cavalry  under  Colonels  Marsha',!  and 
Yell. 

The  position  of  that  portion  of  the  Mexican  army  which 
had  gained  our  rear  was  now  very  critical,  and  it  seemed 
doubtful  whether  it  could  regain  the  main  body.  At  this 
moment  I  received  from  General  Santa  Anna  a  message  by 
a  staff  officer,  desiring  to  know  what  I  wanted  ?  I  immedi 
ately  despatched  Brigadier-General  Wool  to  the  Mexican 
general-in-chief,  and  sent  orders  to  cease  firing.  Upon 
reaching  the  Mexican  lines  General  Wool  could  not  cause  the 
enemy  to  cease  their  fire,  and  accordingly  returned  without 
having  an  interview.  The  extreme  right  of  the  enemy  con- 
tinued its  retreat  along  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  finally, 
in  spite  of  our  efforts,  effected  a  junction  with  the  remainder 
of  the  army. 

During  the  day,  the  cavalry  of  General  Minon  had  ascended 
the  elevated  plain  above  Saltillo,  and  occupied  the  road  from 
the  city  to  the  field  of  battle,  where  they  intercepted  several 
of  our  men.  Approaching  the  town,  they  were  fired  upon 
by  Captain  Webster  from  the  redoubt  occupied  by  his  com- 
pany. The  enemy  made  one  or  two  efforts  to  charge  the  ar 
tillery,  but  was  finally  driven  back  in  a  confused  mass,  and 
did  not  again  appear  upon  the  plain.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
firing  had  ceased  upon  the  principal  field.  The  enemy 
eeeined  to  confine  his  efforts  to  the  protection  of  his  artillery , 


880  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  I  had  left  the  plateau  for  a  moment,  when  I  was  recalled 
thither  by  a  very  heavy  musketry  fire.  On  regaining  that 
position,  I  discovered  that  our  infantry  (Illinois  and  2d  Ken- 
tucky) had  engaged  a  greatly  superior  force  of  the  enemy — 
evidently  his  reserve — and  that  they  had  been  overwhelmed 
by  numbers.  The  moment  was  most  critical.  Captain  O'Brien 
wi  th  two  pieces,  had  sustained  this  heavy  charge  to  the  last, 
and  was  finally  obliged  to  leave  his  guns  on  the  field — his 
infantry  support  being  entirely  routed.  Captain  Bragg,  who 
had  just  arrived  from  the  left,  was  ordered  at  once  into  bat- 
tery. Without  any  infantry  to  support  him,  and  at  the  im- 
minent risk  of  losing  his  guns,  this  officer  came  rapidly  into 
action,  the  Mexican  line  being  but  a  few  yards  from  the 
muzzle  of  his  pieces.  The  first  discharge  of  canister  caused 
the  enemy  to  hesitate,  the  second  and  third  drove  him  back 
in  disorder,  and  saved  the  day.  The  2d  Kentucky  regiment, 
which  had  advanced  beyond  supporting  distance  in  this  affair, 
was  driven  back  and  closely  pressed  by  the  enemy's  cavalry. 
Taking  a  ravine  which  led  in  the  direction  of  Captain  Wash- 
ington's battery,  their  pursuers  became  exposed  to  his  fire, 
which  soon  checked  and  drove  them  back  with  loss.  In  the 
mean  time  the  rest  of  our  artillery  had  taken  position  on  the 
plateau,  covered  by  the  Mississippi  and  3d  Indiana  regiments, 
the  former  of  which  had  reached  the  ground  in  time  to  pour 
a  fire  into  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy,  and  thus  contribute 
to  his  repulse.  In  this  last  conflict  we  had  the  misfortune 
to  sustain  a  very  heavy  loss.  Colonel  Hardin,  1st  Illinois, 
and  Colonel  McKee  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Clay,  2d  Ken- 
tucky regiment,  fell  at  this  time  while  gallantly  leading  their 
commands. 

No  farther  attempt  was  made  by  the  enemy  to  force  our 
position,  and  the  approach  of  night  gave  an  opportunity  to 


EACH  ART  TAYLOR.  381 

pay  proper  attention  to  the  wounded,  and  also  to  refresh  the 
soldiers,  who  had  been  exhausted  by  incessant  watchfulness 
and  combat.  Though  the  night  was  severely  cold,  the  troops 
were  compelled  for  the  most  part  to  bivouac  without  fires, 
expecting  that  morning  would  renew  the  conflict. 

On  the  evening  of  the  26th,  a  close  reconnoissance  was 
made  of  the  enemy's  position,  which  was  found  to  be  occupied 
only  by  a  small  body  of  cavalry,  the  infantry  and  artillery 
having  retreated  in  the  direction  of  San  Luis  Potosi.  On 
the  27th,  our  troops  resumed  their  former  camp  at  Agua 
Nueva,  the  enemy's  rear-guard  evacuating  the  place  as  we 
approached,  leaving  a  considerable  number  of  wounded. 

The  American  force  engaged  in  the  action  of  Buena  Vista 
is  shown,  by  the  accompanying  field  report,  to  have  been 
three  hundred  and  thirty-four  officers,  and  four  thousand  four 
hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  exclusive  of  the  small  com- 
mand left  in  and  near  Saltillo.  Of  this  number,  two  sqadrons 
of  cavalry  and  three  batteries  of  light  artillery,  making  not 
more  than  four  hundred  and  fifth-three  men,  composed  the 
only  force  of  regular  troops.  The  strength  of  the  Mexican 
army  is  stated  by  General  Santa  Anna,  in  his  summons,  to 
be  twenty  thousand ;  and  that  estimate  is  confirmed  by  all 
the  information  since  obtained.  Our  loss  is  two  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  killed,  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded, 
and  twenty-three  missing.  The  Mexican  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  may  be  fairly  estimated  at  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred, and  will  probably  reach  two  thousand.  At  least  five 
hundred  of  their  killed  were  left  upon  the  field  of  battle. 
We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  number  of  deserters 
and  dispersed  men  from  their  ranks,  but  it  is  known  to 
be  very  great.  The  rest  of  this  despatch  is  devoted  to 
complimenting  particular  officers. 


382  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

The  battle  of  Buena  Vista  will  stand  as  an  evidence  of 
the  great  military  qualities  of  the  American  general.  The 
field  was  skilfully  chosen,  and  all  the  efforts  of  a  vastly 
superior  enemy  was  met  with  a  wise  and  determined  resist- 
ance. General  Taylor  performed  no  further  remarkable 
service  during  the  war.  Upon  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  he  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  gratitude 
and  admiration.  Although  he  retired  to  his  plantation  on 
the  Mississippi,  his  countrymen  were  determined  that  there 
he  should  not  be  permitted  to  rest.  Before  the  general  had 
left  Mexico,  he  had  been  nominated  for  the  Presidency  in 
various  sections  of  the  union,  and  a  disposition  was  now 
manifested  to  bring  him  forward  as  the  candidate  of  the 
national  whig  party.  The  general  had  meddled  little  with 
politics.  He  declared  himself  "  a  whig,  but  not  an  ultra 
whig."  Violent  partizans  found  no  favor  with  him.  His 
opinions  were  those  of  the  Jefferson  stamp,  while  he  ex- 
pressed his  ardent  admiration  for  the  policy  of  Washington. 
Tie  objected  to -the  frequent  exercise  of  the  veto  power  by 
the  President — believing  such  a  course  detrimental  to  liberty, 
and  antagonistic  to  the  design  of  the  framers  of  the  consti- 
tution. It  was  understood  that  his  views  in  regard  to  the 
revenue  and  internal  improvements  agreed  with  those  of  the 
leading  whig  statesmen. 

In  June,  1848,  the  national  convention  of  the  whigs  met 
in  Philadelphia.  Upon  the  third  ballot,  General  Taylor 
received  a  majority  of  votes,  and  was,  therefore,  declared 
the  nominee  for  President.  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York, 
was  placed  upon  the  same  ticket  as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice 
Presidency.  General  Taylor  accepted  the  nomination  with 
a  diffidence  that  evinced  how  little  he  had  sought  for  it 
The  canvass  was  an  exciting  one.  General  Lewis  Caris,  of 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  383 

Michigan,  and  General  William  0.  Butler,  of  Kentucky, 
were  the  candidates  of  the  democratic  party  ;  while  Martin 
Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  were  the  candidates  of  a  new  organization, 
called  "the  free  soil  party,"  which  was  opposed  to  the  ex- 
tension af  slavery.  The  result  of  the  election  thus  appeared 
in  the  electoral  college :  For  Zachary  Taylor,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five;  for  Lewis  Cass,  one  hundred  and  sixty; 
for  Millard  Fillmore,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  ;  for  Wil 
liam  0.  Butler,  one  hundred  and  sixty.  Messrs.  Taylor  and 
Fillmore  were  thus  elected. 

The  progress  of  the  President  elect  from  his  residence  in 
Louisiana  to  Washington,  in  February,  1849,  was  a  con- 
tinued triumph.  In  all  the  towns  through  which  he  passed, 
he  was  greeted  with  gorgeous  processions  and  the  most  en- 
thusiastic acclamations.  The  old  warrior  was  rewarded  for 
all  his  hard  service  upon  the  frontier,  in  the  swamps  of 
Florida,  and  in  the  hot  fields  of  Mexico.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  the  ceremony  of  inauguration  was  performed,  amid 
a  vast  assemblage  of  citizens,  from  all  parts  of  the  union. 
General  Taylor's  address  was  brief,  but  eloquent,  and  all 
that  the  occasion  demanded.  He  expressed  his  intention 
of  making  honesty,  capacity,  and  fidelity,  the  qualifications 
for  office,  and  of  guiding  his  administration  by  the  bright 
example  of  Washington. 

The  following  eminent  whigs  were  chosen  to  form  the 
cabinet :  John  M.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  Secretary  of  State  ; 
William  M.  Meredith,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury ;  Thomas  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  the  Inte- 
rior ;  George  W.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  War ; 
William  B.  Preston,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ; 
Beverdy  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  Attorney  General ;  Jaccl 


384  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Collamer,  of  Vermont,  Postmaster  General.  The  office  of 
Secretary  of  the  Home  Department,  or  of  the  Interior,  had 
been  created  at  the  previous  session  of  Congress.  It  was 
designed  to  relieve  the  state  and  treasury  department  of  a 
portion  of  their  onerous  duties. 

Of  the  events  of  General  Taylor's  administration,  we  may 
speak,  but  not  judge.  They  have  passed  too  recently  to 
allow  the  cool  settlement  of  an  opinion  of  them.  In  Congress, 
the  opposition  had  a  decided  majority.  Howell  Cobb,  de- 
mocrat, was  elected  speaker  of  the  house,  at  the  second 
session  of  Congress,  after  General  Taylor's  inauguration, 
but  not  until  after  a  struggle  of  six  weeks'  duration,  pro- 
duced by  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  territories  causing 
a  division  in  the  democratic  ranks.  Great  excitement  per- 
vaded the  country.  California  had  applied  for  admission 
into  the  union,  but  this  was  opposed  by  southern  members 
of  Congress.  Texas  laid  claim  to  a  portion  of  the  territory 
of  New  Mexico,  and  threatened  to  take  forcible  possession. 
It  was  proposed  to  give  Utah  and  New  Mexico  territorial 
governments,  but  the  question  of  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
interfered.  The  President  was  understood  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  admission  of  California  independent  of  other  mea- 
sures, and  of  leaving  the  question  of  slavery  or  no  slavery  in 
the  territories  to  the  people  concerned.  But  Messrs.  Foote, 
Bell,  and  Clay,  in  the  senate,  proposed  a  series  of  compro- 
mise measures,  which  they  contended  would  settle  the  diffi- 
culty. A  select  committee  of  thirteen  senators,  of  which 
Henry  Clay  was  chairman,  reported  these  measures  com- 
bined in  what  was  called  an  "omnibus  bill."  This  bill 
caused  a  lengthy  and  exciting  discussion  in  Congress,  the 
best  talent  of  the  country  being  called  into  the  arena  of 
debate. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  385 

Preparation  being  made  in  southern  ports  to  set  on  foot 
an  expedition  to  revolutionize  the  Island  of  Cuba,  in  the 
Bummer  of  1850,  President  Taylor  issued  a  proclamation, 
expressing  his  determination  to  uphold  and  vindicate  the 
neutral  laws  of  the  United  States.  The  expedition,  under 
General  Narciso  Lopez,  however,  sailed,  and  troops  were 
landed  at  Cardenas.  After  a  day's  fighting,  which  proved 
that  the  invaders  had  few  friends  on  the  island,  they  re- 
embarked  and  returned  to  the  United  States.  The  course 
of  the  president,  in  regard  to  this  expedition,  was  generally 
approved. 

The  discussion  upon  the  compromise  measure  was  at  it* 
height.  The  storms  of  sectional  hostility  threatened  the 
union,  when  suddenly  the  pilot  was  stricken  down  while  at 
the  helm.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1850,  President  Taylor  at- 
tended the  ceremony  of  laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  na- 
tional monument  to  Washington.  It  is  believed  that  the 
exposure  to  a  heat  of  unusual  intensity  caused  a  malady, 
which  about  half-past  ten  o'clock,  on  the  night  of  the  9th 
of  July,  terminated  his  eventful  and  honorable  life.  His 
last  words  indicated  his  character :  "  I  am  not  afraid  to  die. 
I  am  ready;  I  have  endeavored  to  do  my  duty,"  said  the 
dying  patriot. 

The  mournful  announcement  of  the  death  of  the  chief 
magistrate  caused  universal  sorrow.  Those  who  had  opposed 
the  policy  of  his  administration  were  now  forward  in  doing 
honor  to  the  great  and  good  qualities  of  the  deceased. 
Throughout  the  land  the  sounds  of  woe  and  lamentation  were 
f,o  be  heard.  Both  houses  of  Congress  had  adjourned  when 
it  was  reported  that  the  President  was  not  expected  to  live 
above  a  few  hours.  When  they  assembled  the  next  day,  and 
the  tidings  was  officially  communicated  to  them,  impressive 


386  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

eulogies  were  delivered  by  members  from  various  states.  In 
the  senate,  Mr.  Webster  and  other  distinguished  orators 
eulogized  the  deceased. 

In  the  house,  among  several  eloquent  eulogies,  those"  of 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  Humphrey 
Marshall,  of  Kentucky,  were  particularly  noted  as  giving 
the  true  idea  of  the  character  of  General  Taylor,  and  of  the 
affliction  of  the  nation  at  his  loss.  "Great,  without  pride;" 
said  Mr.  Marshall,  "  cautious,  without  fear ;  brave,  without 
rashness  ;  stern,  without  harshness  ;  modest,  without  bash- 
fulness  ;  apt,  without  flippancy ;  intelligent,  without  the 
pedantry  of  learning ;  sagacious,  without  cunning ;  benevo 
lent,  without  ostentation ;  sincere  and  honest  as  the  sun, 
the  '  noble  old  Roman'  has  at  last  laid  down  his  earthly  har- 
ness— his  task  is  done.  He  has  fallen  as  falls  the  summer- 
tree  in  the  bloom  of  its  honors,  ere  the  blight  of  autumn  has 
seared  a  leaf  that  adorns  it."  A  committee  from  both 
houses  was  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  the  funeral.  The  obsequities  were  solemnized  with  great 
magnificence,  and  were  worthy  of  a  nation's  sorrow.  The 
funeral  procession  was  long  and  splendid.  An  eloquent 
Bermon  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Smith  Pyne,  and  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  performed.  All  the  pro- 
ceedings were  impressive  and  worthy  of  their  illustrious 
subject. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  the  senate  adopted  a  resolution 
proposed  by  Mr.  Webster,  to  erect  a  neat  monument  to  the 
memory  of  General  Taylor.  The  house  concurred  in  this 
measure. 

President  Taylor  left  a  widow  and  two  daughters — both 
married.  His  fortune  was  never  extensive,  but  he  left 
sufficient  property  to  render  bis  widow  independent. 


MILLARD  FILLMORE. 

THE  life  of  Millard  Fillmore  is  full  of  bright  lessons.  Nc 
more  forcible  illustration  of  the  power  of  energy  and  intel- 
lect over  obstructing  cirrumstances — "  low  birth  and  iron 
fortune" — can  be  found.  To  every  young  American  it 
speaks,  teaching  resolution  and  perseverance. 

His  father,  Nathaniel  Fillmore,  was  the  son  of  one  of  like 
name,  who  served  in  the  French  war,  and  was  a  true  whig 
of  the  revolution,  proving  his  devotion  to  his  country's  cause 
by  gallantly  fighting  as  lieutenant  under  General  Stark,  in 
the  battle  of  Bennington.  He  was  born  at  Bennington, 
Vermont,  in  1771,  and  early  in  life  removed  to  what  is  now 
called  Summec  Hill,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  where  Mil- 
lard  was  born,  January  7th,  1800.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
goon  after  lost  all  of  his  property  by  a  bad  title  to  one  of  the 
military  lots  he  had  purchased.  About  the  year  1802,  he 
removed  to  the  town  of  Sempronius,  now  Niles,  and  lived 
there  till  1819,  when  he  removed  to  Erie  county,  where  he 
cultivated  a  small  farm  with  his  own  hands.  He  was  a 
strong  and  uniform  supporter  of  Jefferson,  Madison, 
and  Tornpkins,  and  was  a  thorough  whig. 

The  narrow  means  of  his  father,  deprived  Millard  of  any 
advantages  of  education  beyond  what  were  afforded  by  the 

387 


388  LIVES  OF  THE  PKESIDENTS. 

imperfect  and  ill-taught  schools  of  the  connty.  Books  were 
Bcarce  and  dear,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  young  Fillmore 
had  read  but  little  except  his  common  school  books  and  the 
Bible.  At  that  period  he  was  sent  to  the  then  wilds  of  Liv- 
ingston county,  to  learn  the  clothier  trade.  He  remained 
there  about  four  months,  and  was  then  placed  with  another 
person,  to  pursue  the  same  business  and  wool  carding,  in  the 
town  where  his  father  lived.  A  small  village  library,  which 
was  formed  there  soon  after,  gave  him  the  first  means  of 
acquiring  general  knowledge  through  books.  He  improved 
the  opportunity  thus  offered.  The  thirst  for  knowledge  soon 
became  insatiate,  and  every  leisure  moment  was  spent  in 
reading.  Four  years  were  passed  in  this  way,  working  at 
his  trade,  and  storing  his  mind  with  the  contents  of  books 
of  history,  biography,  and  travels.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  fortunately  made  the  acquaintance  with  Walter  Wood, 
Esq.,  who  advised  him  to  quit  his  trade  and  study  law.  In 
reply  to  the  objection  of  a  lack  of  education,  means,  and 
friends,  to  aid  him  in  a  course  of  professional  study,  Judge 
Wood  kindly  offered  to  give  him  a  place  in  his  office,  to  ad- 
vance money  to  defray  his  expenses,  and  wait  until  success 
in  business  should  furnish  the  means  of  re-payment.  The 
offer  was  accepted.  The  apprentice  bought  his  time ;  en- 
tered the  office  of  Judge  Wood,  and  for  more  than  two  years 
applied  himself  closely  to  business  and  study.  He  read  law 
and  general  literature,  and  studied  and  practised  surveying. 
Fearing  he  should  incur  too  large  a  debt  to  his  benefactor, 
tie  taught  school  for  three  months  in  the  year,  and  acquired 
the  means  of  partially  supporting  himself.  In  the  fall  of 
1821,  he  removed  to  the  county  of  Erie,  and  the  next  spring 
entered  a  law  office  in  Buffalo.  There  he  sustained  himself 
by  teaching  school,  and  continued  his  legal  studies  until  the 


MILLARD  FILLMORE.  389 

spring  of  1823,  whe»  he  was  admitted  to  the  Common  Pleas, 
and  commenced  practice  in  the  village  of  Aurora,  where  he 
i  emained  until  1830,  when  he  again  removed  to  Buffalo,  and 
has  continued  to  reside  there  ever  since. 

His  first  entry  into  public  life  was  in  January,  182»9,  when 
he  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  legislature,  from  Erie 
county,  to  which  office  he  was  re-elected  the  two  following 
years.  His  talents,  integrity,  and  assiduous  devotion  to 
public  business,  soon  won  him  the  confidence  of  the  house. 
The  most  important  measure  that  came  up  during  his  service 
in  the  legislature,  was  the  bill  to  abolish  imprisonment  for 
debt.  In  behalf  of  that  philanthropic  measure,  Mr.  Fillmore 
took  an  active  part,  urging  its  justice  and  expediency,  and 
as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  subject,  aiding  to  per- 
fect its  details.  That  portion  of  the  bill  relating  to  justices' 
courts  was  drafted  by  him,  the  remainder  being  the  work 
of  the  Hon.  John  C.  Spencer. 

He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1832,  and  took  his  seat  iu 
.the  stormy  session  of  1833—34,  immediately  after  the  remo- 
val of  the  deposits.  In  those  days,  the  business  of  the  house 
and  debates  were  led  by  old  and  experienced  members — new 
ones,  unless  they  enjoyed  a  widespread  reputation,  rarely  took 
an  active  part.  Little  chance  was  afforded  him  of  display 
ing  his  abilities,  but  the  school  was  one  admirably  qualified 
to  develop  and  cultivate  his  powers.  He  discharged  his  duty 
with  scrupulous  fidelity,  never  omitting  any  effort  to  advance 
the  interest  of  his  constituents.  At  the  close  of  his  term  of 
service,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  until, 
yielding  to  the  public  voice,  he  was  re-elected  to  Congress, 
in  1836.  In  that  Congress,  Mr.  Fillmore  took  a  more  ac- 
tive part  than  he  had  during  his  first  term,  and  at  the 
next  contest  he  was  re-elected  by  an  increased  majority. 


390  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  next  Congress,  to  which  Mr, 
Fillmore  was  re-elected  by  the  largest  majority  ever  given 
in  his  district,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  committee 
on  ways  and  means.  The  chairman  of  this  important  com- 
mittee is  virtually  the  leader  of  the  house.  The  duties  of 
that  responsible  station,  always  arduous,  were  at  this  period 
peculiarily  so.  A  new  administration,  with  an  entire  new 
domestic  policy  had  come  into  power.  To  replenish  the 
treasury,  to  provide  means  that  would  enable  the  government 
to  meet  the  demands  against  it,  to  pay  off  the  debt,  to  revive 
trade  and  industry — these  onerous  tasks  devolved  upon  the 
committee  of  ways  and  means.  With  an  energy  and  devo- 
tion to  the  public  weal,  truly  admirable,  Mr.  Fillmore  applied 
himself  to  the  work,  and,  sustained  by  a  majority,  succeeded 
in  accomplishing  his  aims.  He  was  an  ardent  and  perse- 
vering advocate  of  the  protective  tariff  policy,  and  his  views 
generally  coincided  with  those  of  the  whig  champion,  Henry 
Clay.  After  his  long  and  severe  labors  in  the  committee 
room — labors  sufficiently  arduous  to  break  down  any  but  an. 
iron  constitution — he  was  required  to  give  his  unremitting 
attention  to  the  house,  to  make  any  explanation  that  might 
be  asked,  and  be  ready  with  a  complete  refutation  of  every 
cavil  or  objection  that  the  minority  might  devise.  For  the 
proper  performance  of  these  duties,  few  men  are  more 
properly  qualified  than  Mr.  Fillmore. 

In  1844,  Mr.  Fillmore  was  selected  as  the  whig  candidate 
for  governor  of  New  York.  The  able  and  popular  Silas 
Wright  was  his  opponent.  Wright  was  elected.  Confident, 
however,  that  Mr.  Fillmore  could  command  a  great  vote  in 
New  York,  the  whigs  nominated  him  for  the  responsible  office 
of  Comptroller,  in  1847,  and  succeeded  in  electing  him  by  an 
unprecedented  majority. 


MILLARD  FILLMORE.  391 

In  June,  1848,  the  national  whig  convention  to  nominate 
candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice  Presidency  was  held 
in  Philadelphia.  General  Zachary  Taylor  was  nominated 
for  the  first  office,  and  Millard  Fillmore  for  the  second. 
The  canvass  was  most  exciting.  The  result  was  a  triumph 
for  General  Taylor  and  Mr.  Fillmore. 

Entering  on  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1849,  Mr.  Fillmore  presided  over  the  senate  of  the  United 
States,  with  a  dignity  and  ability  worthy  of  an  experienced 
parliamentarian,  until  the  death  of  General  Taylor,  on  the 
9th  of  July  1850,  when,  according  to  the  provision  of  the 
constitution,  he  became  President  of  the  United  States. 

Immediately  after  the  accession  of  Mr.  Fillmore,  all  the 
members  of  the  cabinet  of  General  Taylor  tendered  their 
resignations.  It  was  understood  that  they  differed  with  the 
new  President  upon  important  public  measures.  A  new  cabi- 
net was  not  organized  without  unusual  difficulty.  At  length 
the  ministry  was  completed  as  follows :  Daniel  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  State ;  Thomas  Corwin,  of  Ohio, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Alexander  H.  H.  Stuart,  of 
Virginia,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Charles  C.  Conrad,  of 
Louisiana,  Secretary  of  War ;  William  H.  Graham,  of  North 
Carolina,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  John  J.  Crittenden,  of 
Kentucky,  Attorney  General;  Nathan  K.  Hall,  of  New 
York,  Postmaster  General. 

As  the  opposition  had  a  majority  in  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress, it  was  not  expected  that  the  administration  could  carry 
through  any  of  the  measures  which  the  whigs  maintained  to 
be  just  and  wise.  The  passage  of  the  compromise  measures, 
settling,  as  supposed,  the  question  of  slavery,  had  the  effect 
to  lull  the  public  mind  into  its  usual  calm  and  steady  move- 
ments. Another  expedition  with  the  object  of  securing  the 


392  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

independence  of  the  Island  of  Cuba,  called  forth  a  proclama 
tion  from  President  Fillmore,  declaring  that  all  violations  of 
the  neutra  laws  of  the  United  States  should  be  punished  and 
that  al)  those  who  embarked  in  such  expeditions  should  place 
themselves  beyond  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  country. 
The  armament,  under  General  Lopez,  sailed,  however,  and 
landing  in  Cuba,  the  troops  fought  several  battles.  But  they 
were  finally  defeated  and  dispersed.  General  Lopez  waa 
garotted — Colonel  Crittenden  and  fifty-two  men  were  shot, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  were  sent  to  Spain,  where  they 
were  reprimanded  and  liberated. 

It  is  agreed  that  Mr.  Fillmore  filled  his  high  station 
with  honor.  His  opponents  admitted  his  patriotism,  in- 
tegrity, and  energy.  He  could  look  back  upon  his  career, 
with  feelings  of  pride  and  self-approval — like  those  of  a 
person,  who  has,  almost  unaided,  climbed  to  the  peak  of  a 
lofty  and  rugged  mountain.  He  was  a  true  representative 
of  the  American  character  —  with  all  its  simplicity,  in- 
dustry, and  aspirations.  While  he  held  the  office  of 
President,  one  of  his  daughters  might  have  been  found 
teaching  a  public  school  in  New  York.  About  such  a 
President,  there  could  be  no  tinsel,  nor  monarchical  re- 
serve. He  was  worthy  to  be  the  servant  of  a  people 
who  look  to  institutions,  not  to  men,  for  happiness  and 
prosperity. 

In  person,  Mr.  Fillmore  was  rather  above  the  middle 
height,  and  strongly  built.  Though  still  young,  compared 
with  the  statesmen  who  surrounded  him,  his  hair  was 
gray,  and  his  general  appearance  venerable.  The  ex- 
pression of  his  countenance  was  cheerful,  benevolent, 
and  intelligent.  His  bearing  was  dignified  and  courte- 
ous. He  visited  Europe  in  1855,  and  again  in  1866; 
and  died  at  Buffalo  on  the  8th  of  March,  1874. 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

THE  baffling  of  wire-working  politicians,  and  the  selec- 
tion of  meritorious  but  unpretending  persons  as  candidates 
for  the  highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  nation,  are  com- 
mon features  in  the  actions  of  recent  nomir.1  i~ing  conven- 
tions. The  laurel  always  confers  most  honor  when  it  is 
deserved  and  yet  unsought.  There  is  something  so  noble 
about  modest  merit  that  even  conventions  made  up  of  noisy, 
trading  politicians  are  compelled  to  yield  its  tribute  of  re- 
spect. The  national  convention  that  nominated  Franklin 
Pierce  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  illustrated 
this  remark. 

Franklin  Pierce  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  New  Hamp- 
fmire,  on  the  23d  of  November,  1804.  His  father,  General 
Benjamin  Pierce,  was  a  distinguished  patriot  and  soldier  of 
the  revolution,  and  afterwards  governor  of  New  Hampshire. 
Franklin  was  the  sixth  of  eight  children.  During  the  war 
of  1812,  the  father  and  brothers  of  the  subject  of  this  me- 
moir were  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  military  spirit,  and 
strenuous  supporters  of  the  Madison  democratic  parfy. 
From  them  Franklin  gained  his  first  lessons  in  democracy 
and  patriotism. 

General  Benjamin  Pierce,  having  all  his  life  felt  the  dis- 

393 


394  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

advantages  of  a  defective  education,  resolved  to  give  his 
son  every  chance  of  improving  his  mind  and  acquiring 
knowledge.  Franklin  was  sent  to  an  academy  at  Hancock, 
and  afterwards  to  that  of  Francestown,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived into  the  family  of  Peter  Woodbury,  father  of  the  late 
distinguished  Judge  Woodbury.  He  was  not  a  precocious 
child,  and  was  rather  remarkable  for  generosity  of  disposition 
than  extraordinary  talent. 

In  the  year  of  1820,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  Franklin 
entered  Bowdoin  College,  at  Brunswick,  Maine.  Among 
his  class-mates  was  the  present  Professor  Calvin  E.  Stowe ; 
and  in  the  College,  at  the  same  time,  were  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne, the  distinguished  writer  of  romance,  and  John  P. 
Hale,  of  oratorical  fame.  During  one  of  his  winter  vaca- 
tions, young  Pierce  taught  a  country  school,  which  was  in 
want  of  a  teacher,  and  yet  could  not  pay  a  sufficient  salary. 
This  was  highly  honorable  in  the  collegian.  His  class- 
mates now  living,  remember  him  as  a  generous  friend  as 
well  as  a  tolerable  scholar.  He  displayed  his  fondness  for 
the  military  profession,  while  at  college,  in,  forming  a  com- 
pany, ot  -which  he  was  chosen  an  officer. 

Leaving  college  in  1824,  Franklin  Pierce  returned  to 
Hillsborough.  Soon  afterwards  he  chose  the  law  as  a  pro- 
fession, and  became  a  student  in  the  office  of  Judge  Wood- 
.bury,  of  Portsmouth.  The  two  last  years  of  his  studies 
were  sper.f,  at  the  law  school  of  Northampton,  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  the  office  of  Judge  Parker,  of  Amherst.  In 
1827,  Mr.  Pierce  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  to 
practise  his  profession,  at  Hillsborough.  At  first,  he  did 
give  promise  of  eminence.  His  first  case  was  a  marked 
failure.  But,  conscious  of  the  power  within  him,  the  young 
lawyer  resolved  to  make  it  manifest.  Politics,  however, 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE.  395 

drew  away  his  .attention  for  a  time.  Like  his  father,  Franklin 
Pierce  was  a  warm  supporter  of  General  Jackson,  and  he 
had  scarcely  been  admitted  to  the  bar  before  he  took  an 
active  part  in  politics. 

In  1829,  the  town  of  Hillsborough  elected  Franklin 
Pierce  its  representative  in  the  legislature  of  the  state. 
He  served  in  that  body  four  years ;  in  the  two  latter  of 
whi?h  he  was  chosen  speaker  by  large  majorities,  it  is  rare 
to  find  so  much  confidence  placed  in  the  abilities  of  so  young 
a  man.  In  1833,  Mr.  Pierce,  then  twenty-nine  years  of 
age,  was  elected  to  Congress.  In  that  body,  he  was  a  labo- 
rious rather  than  a  conspicuous  member.  He  was  too  modest 
to  speak  frequently  where  older  and  more  experienced  men 
were  legislating ;  but  in  the  committee-room,  he  was  recog- 
nised as  a  trusty  and  valuable  member  of  the  national  house. 
He  supported  the  administration  of  President  Jackson 
through  all  the  storms  by  which  it  was  assailed.  His  prin- 
cipal speeches  were  made  in  opposition  to  the  bill  authoriz- 
ing appropriations  for  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
an  institution  to  which  he  subsequently  became  friendly. 

Having  remained  a  member  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives about  four  years,  Franklin  Pierce  was,  in  1837,  elected 
to  the  Senate  of  the  UrJted  States.  That  body  then  con- 
tained Clay,  Calhoun,  Webster,  and  other  extraordinary 
men,  and  Mr.  Pierce  took  his  seat  among  them  when  scarcely 
thirty  years  of  age.  While  he  continued  in  the  senate,  the 
administration  President  Van  Buren  received  his  cordia. 
Bupport.  He  seldom  spoke  ;  but  always  worked  and  voted 
In  1840,  Mr.  Pierce,  then  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
revolutionary  pensions,  made  a  forcible  speech,  in  which 
while  he  acknowledged  the  strong  claims  of  the  revolutionary- 
patriots  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  country,  he  took  ground 


396  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

against  the  extensive  system  of  pensions.  After  the  acces- 
sion of  the  whig  party  to  power,  in  1841,  Mr.  Pierce  made 
a  vigorous  speech,  denunciatory  of  the  removals  from  office 
made  by  the  Harrison  administration.  Upon  the  whole, 
the  congressional  career  of  Franklin  Pierce  conferred  high 
honor  upon  himself,  and  considerable  benefit  upon  the  na- 
tional legislation.  In  June,  1842,  he  signified  his  purpose 
of  retiring  from  the  senate.  In  1834,  he  had  married  Jane 
Means,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Appleton,  formerly 
president  of  Bowdoin  College.  Three  sons,  the  Crst  of 
whom  died  in  infancy,  had  been  born  to -him;  and  having 
hitherto  been  kept  poor  by  his  public  services,  he  became 
sensible  of  the  expediency  of  making  some  provision  for  the 
future.  This  was  the  reason  of  his  resignation. 

Mr.  Pierce  now  took  up  his  residence  at  Concord,  and 
devoted  himself,  with  the  most  brilliant  success,  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law.  Those  who  had  remarked  the  effort  of  his 
first  failure  at  the  bar,  were  astonished  and  delighted  with 
the  powerful  speeches  which  he  now  made  on  many  occa- 
sions. He  was  soon  considered  at  the  head  of  the  New 
Hampshire  bar.  In  1846,  President  Polk  tendered  to  Mr. 
Pierce  the  high  position  of  attorney-general  of  the  United 
States ;  but,  from  family  reasons,  he  declined  the  honor. 
He  also  declined  an  appointment  of  United  States  senator 
by  Governor  Steele,  and  the  nomination  of  the  democratic 
convention  for  governor.  Few  men  have  rejected  so  many 
opportunities  of  distinction  as  Franklin  Pierce.  Honors 
came  unsought,  and  he  refused  them. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  in  1846,  Frank- 
lin Pierce  showed  his  patriotism  by  enrolling  himself  as  the 
earliest  volunteer  of  a  company  raised  in  Concord.  On  the 
passage  of  the  bill  for  the  increase  of  the  army,  he  received 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE.  397 

the  appointment  of  colonel  of  the  9th  regiment ;  and  shortly 
afterwards,  he  was  commissioned  as  brigadier-general  in  the 
army.  On  the  27th  of  May,  1847,  he  sailed  from  Newport 
in  the  bark  Kepler,  and  after  a  voyage  of  a  month  reached 
Vera  Cruz.  General  Scott,  with  his  victorious  army,  was 
then  far  on  his  way  towards  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  com- 
munications between  the  army  and  Vera  Cruz  were  cut  off 
by  swarms  of  guerillas.  General  Pierce  was  compelled  to 
await  the  arrival  of  his  whole  brigade,  and  the  supplies  in- 
tended for  General  Scott.  On  the  16th  of  July,  he  left  Vera 
Cruz,  and  began  his  perilous  march.  At  San  Juan  and 
other  points,  the  brigade  was  assailed  by  guerillas,  but  the 
rapid  charges  ordered  by  General  Pierce  were  effectual  in 
beating  them  back.  After  a  fatiguing  and  exhausting 
march,  he  reached  the  main  army  at  Puebla,  on  the  7th  of 
August,  with  twenty  four-hundred  men,  in  good  order,  and 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  wagon.  General  Pierce  took 
an  active  part  in  the  battles  fought  in  the  valley  of  Mexico, 
end  though  disabled  for  a  time  by  the  fall  of  his  horse,  had 
opportunities  of  which  he  took  advantage,  to  prove  himself 
a  brave  and  skilful  officer.  After  the  capture  of  the  city 
of  Mexico,  and  the  beginning  of  negotiations,  for  peace, 
General  Pierce  returned  to  the  United  States.  In  Concord, 
he  was  welcomed  with  enthusiasm,  and  many  marks  of 
h«nor  were  conferred  upon  him.  He  resigned  his  commis- 
'on  in  the  army,  and  returned  to  the  practice  of  the  law. 

The  citizen  soldier  was  not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  the 
sweets  of  private  life.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
convention,  called  in  1850,  to  revise  the  constitution  of 
New  Hampshire.  In  that  body  he  acted  as  president,  and 
possessed  great  influence.  General  Pierce  approved  of 
the  Compromise  measures  passed  by  Congress,  in  i860, 


398  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  procured  for  them  the  support  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  democratic  party  in  New  Hampshire. 

On  the  llth  of  June,  1852,  the  Democratic  National 
Convention  assembled  at  Baltimore,  in  order  to  select  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  The 
democracy  of  New  Hampshire  had  indicated  General  Pierce 
as  its  preference,  but,  at  his  request,  his  name  was  not  at 
first  presented  to  the  convention.  Thirty-five  ballotings 
were  held  and  still  there  was  no  choice.  Then  Virginia  cast 
her  .vote  for  Franklin  Pierce,  and  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot, 
the  vote  stood,  for  Franklin  Pierce,  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
two,  and  for  all  other  candidates,  eleven.  William  R.  King, 
of  Alabama,  was  nominated  on  the  same  ticket  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  General  Pierce  accepted  the  unexpected  nomi- 
nation, with  an  expression  of  diffidence  which  was  highly 
honorable  to  his  character. 

The  canvass  was  conducted  with  spirit.  The  whig  party 
brought  forward  as  its  candidates,  General  Winfield  Scott, 
of  New  Jersey,  and  William  A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina. 
The  election  was  held  on  the  2d  of  November;  and  the 
next  day  it  was  known  that  the  democratic  candidates  had 
been  chosen  by  an  unprecedented  majority.  Only  four 
states — Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
were  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition. 

On  the  4th  of  March  1853,  Franklin  Pierce  was  inaugu 
rated  President  of  the  United  States.  His  address  con- 
tained a  plain  avowal  of  his  political  principles,  which  were 
those  of  a  large  majority  of  the  democratic  party.  A  love 
of  the  Union  was  conspicuous  in  this  inaugural  declaration. 
The  cabinet  of  the  new  President  was  formed  as  follows : — 
William  L.  Marcy,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  State ;  Ro- 
bert M'Clelland,  of  Michigan,  Secretary  of  the  Interior 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE.  399 

James  Guthrie,  of  Kentucky,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  Secretary  of  War ;  James 
Dobbins,  of  North  Carolina,  Secretary  of  the  Navy; 
Caleb  Gushing,  of  Massachusetts,  Attorney-General ; 
and  James  Campbell,  of  Pennsylvania,  Postmaster- 
General.  The  administration  of  President  Pierce  began 
under  the  brightest  auspices,  having  the  support  and 
confidence  of  a  powerful  party. 

The  acquisition  of  Texas,  which  was  really  a  great 
and  most  successful  filibustering  expedition,  stimulated 
similar  efforts  in  other  directions,  and  these  efforts  caused 
President  Pierce  no  small  annoyance.  In  December, 
1850,  Lopez,  a  Cuban,  with  a  number  of  associates,  had 
been  arrested  for  a  violation  of  the  neutrality  law  of 
1818;  but  as  nothing  could  be  proved  against  them, 
they  had  been  released.  Early  in  August  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  Lopez  sailed  from  New  Orleans  and  landed 
in  Cuba ;  but  the  Spanish  authorities  routed  his  forces, 
executed  the  leaders,  and  imprisoned  the  rest.  It  was 
evident  that  Spain  was  too  strongly  intrenched  in  Cuba 
to-be  disturbed  by  private  effort,  and  hence  subsequent 
movements  in  its  direction  were  mainly  confined  to 
governmental  action.  Nevertheless,  private  prepara- 
tions did  not  wholly  cease,  though  they  never  again 
came  prominently  to  the  surface.  President  Pierce 
ended  them  by  his  proclamation  of  May  31, 1854,  warn- 
ing all  good  citizens  against  taking  any  part  in  them. 

The  expedition  against  Cuba,  however,  at  first  gave 
rise  to  considerable  anxiety  in  Europe  as  to  the  possible 
future  action  of  the  United -States  Government  in 
regard  to  them.  In  1852,  Great  Britain  and  France 
jointly  proposed  to  the  United  States  a  tripartite  con- 


.  400  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

vention,  by  which  the  three  powers  should  disclaim  all 
intention  to  obtain  possession  of  Cuba,  and  should  dis- 
countenance such  an  attempt  by  any  power.  Edward 
Everett,  the  Secretary  of  State,  refused  to  do  so,  but 
at  the  same  time  he  declared  that  the  United  States 
would  never  question  Spain's  title  to  the  island.  In 
August,  1854,  President  Pierce  directed  the  American 
ministers  to  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain  —  James 
Buchanan,  John  Y.  Mason,  and  Pierre  Sould  —  to  meet 
in  some  convenient  city  and  discuss  the  Cuban  question. 
They  met  at  Ostend,  Oct.  9,  and  afterwards  at  Aix  la 
Chapelle,  and  drew  up  the  despatch  to  their  government, 
.  which  is  commonly  known  as  the  "  Ostend  Manifesto." 
It  declares,  in  brief,  that  the  sale  of  Cuba  would  be  as 
advantageous  and  honorable  to  Spain  as  its  purchase 
would  be  to  the  United  States ;  but  that,  if  Spain 
should  obstinately  refuse  to  sell  it,  self-preservation 
would  make  it  incumbent  upon  the  United  States  to 
"  wrest  it  from  her,"  and  prevent  it  from  being  African- 
ized into  a  second  St.  Domingo. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  neither  the  Ostend  confer- 
ence nor  the  cabinet  at  Washington  gave  any  counte- 
nance to  this  policy.  The  manifesto  was  denounced  in 
the  Republican  platform  of  1856,  as  "  the  highwayman's 
plea  that  might  makes  right ; "  and  was  not  openly 
defended  by  the  Democratic  platform  of  1856  or  of 
1860,  except  that  the  latter  declared  in  favor  of  the 
acquisition  of  Cuba  by  honorable  and  just  means,  at 
the  earliest  practical  moment. 

It  was  during  President  Pierce's  administration  that 
the  so-called  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  was  passed.  By 
virtue  of  this  bill  the  territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE.  401 

were  organized,  and  its  political  importance  consisted 
wholly  in  its  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  of 
1820. 

It  did  not  seem  possible  at  the  time  that  there  could 
arise  any  further  question  in  regard  to  slavery  in  the 
United  States,  for  every  inch  of  territory  in  the  coun- 
try was  thought  to  be  covered  by  some  compromise  or 
other.  The  slavery  question  was,  then,  in  this  state  of 
equilibrium  when  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  House,  Feb. 
10,  1853,  to  organize  the  territory  of  Nebraska,  cover- 
ing also  the  modern  State  of  Kansas.  In  the  Senate 
the  bill  was  laid  on  the  table.  But  during  the  summer 
of  1853,  Southern  politicians  began  to  discuss  the  new 
phase  of  the  slavery  question  treated  by  the  proposed 
bill ;  and,  by  the  time  that  Congress  met  in  December, 
they  had  pretty  accurately  marked  out  a  plan  for  future 
action.  The  Northern  Democrats  were  in  sympathy 
with  them. 

In  January,  1854,  after  considerable  discussion, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  reported  a  new  bill  on  the  subject, 
which,  in  its  ultimate  and  unexpected  consequences, 
was  one  of  the  most  far-reaching  legislative  acts  in 
American  history.  The  bill  divided  the  territory  from 
latitude  37°  to  latitude  43°  30'  into  two  territories,  — 
the  southern  to  be  called  Kansas,  and  the  northern,  Ne- 
braska; the  territory  between  latitude  36°  30'  and  37° 
was  now  left  to  the  Indians.  In  the  organization  of 
both  these  territories  it  was  declared  to  be  the  purpose 
of  the  Act  to  carry  out  the  following  three  "  propositions 
and  principles  established  by  the  compromise  measures 
of  1850 :  "  1.  That  all  questions  as  to  slavery  in  the 
territories,  or  the  States  to  be  formed  from  them,  were 


402  LIVES    OF    THE   PRESIDENTS. 

••-o  be  left  to  the  representatives  of  the  people  residing 
therein  ;  2.  That  cases  involving  title  to  slaves  or  per- 
sonal freedom  might  be  appealed  from  the  local  tribunals 
to  the  Supreme  Court ;  and  3.  That  the  fugitive-slave 
law  could  apply  to  the  Territories. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  1854,  the  bill  passed  the  Senate 
by  a  vote  of  thirty-seven  to  fourteen.  In  the  affirma- 
tive were  fourteen  Northern  Democrats,  and  twenty- 
three  Southern  Democrats  and  Whigs.  In  the  negative 
were  eight  Northern  anti-slavery  Senators,  Free  Soilers, 
or  "anti-Nebraska  men;"  one  Southern  Whig;  one 
Southern  Democrat;  and  four  Northern  Democrats. 
The  bill  was  passed  by  the  House,  May  24,  by  a  major- 
ity of  thirteen ;  and  on  the  30th  of  May,  President 
Pierce  signed  the  bill,  which  at  once  became  a  law. 

What  were  the  results?  The  bill  destroyed  the 
Whig  part}r,  the  great  mass  of  whose  voters  in  the  South 
went  over  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  the  North 
to  the  new  Republican  party.  It  made  the  Democratic 
party  almost  entirely  sectional,  for  the  loss  of  its  strong 
anti-slavery  element  in  the  North  reduced  it  in  the 
course  of  the  next  few  years  to  a  hopeless  minority 
there.  It  crystallized  all  the  Northern  elements  opposed 
to  slavery  into  another  sectional  party,  soon  to  take  the 
name  of  "  Republican."  Finally,  it  compelled  all  other 
elements,  after  a  hopeless  effort  to  form  a  new  party  on 
a  new  issue,  to  join  one  or  the  other  sectional  party. 

Its  effects  on  the  people  of  the  two  sections  were 
even  worse.  It  made  the  whole  North  believe  that  the 
policy  of  the  South  was  a  greedy,  grasping,  selfish 
desire  for  the  extension  of  slavery ;  it  led  the  South 
into  the  belief  that  the  North  was  treacherous  and 


FRANKLIN   PIERCE.  403 

evasive.  In  other  words,  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
and  still  more  the  Dred  Scott  Decision  which  followed 
it,  placed  each  section,  in  1860,  to  its  own  think- 
ing, impregnably  upon  its  own  peculiar  ground  of 
aggrievement.  The  North  remembered  only  the  viola- 
tion of  the  compromise  of  1820  by  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill ;  while  the  South,  ignoring  the  compromise  of  1820 
as  obsolete  by  mutual  agreement,  complained  of  the 
North's  refusal  to  carry  out  fairly  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill  and  the  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

All  this  unfortunate  complication  was  due  entirely  to 
Stephen  A.  Douglas's  over-zealous  desire  to  settle  still 
more  firmly  and  securely  a  question  which  was  already 
settled. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that,  by  his  signature  to 
the  bill,  President  Pierce  strengthened  the  Democratic 
party,  his  party  refused  him  a  second  term.  At  the 
Democratic  National  Convention,  which  assembled  in 
Cincinnati  in  1856^  James  Buchanan  was  nominated  as 
his  successor,  and  was  elected  in  November. 

In  March,  1857,  Mr.  Pierce  retired  to  private  life, 
and  shortly  afterwards  he  sailed  for  Europe  with  his 
wife,  whose  health  had  been  seriously  impaired  since 
the  death  of  their  last  surviving  son  in  1853.  They 
visited  Madeira,  and  made  a  protracted  tour  of  the 
Continent,  returning  home  in  1860.  The  sojourn  abroad 
was  an  interesting  one,  but  the  bereaved  mother  could 
not  ralty  from  her  great  affliction,  and  died  in  1863. 

President  Pierce  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
State  Rights  doctrine.  In  1860,  on  the  6th  of  January, 
he  thus  wrote  to  his  old  friend,  Jefferson  Davis:  "I 
have  never  believed  that  actual  disruption  of  the  Union 


404  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

can  occur  without  blood ;  and  if,  through  the  madness 
of  Northern  abolitionists,  that  dire  calamity  must  come, 
the  fighting  will  not  be  along  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
merely,  it  will  be  within  our  own  borders,  in  our  own 
streets,  between  the  two  classes  of  citizens  to  whom 
I  have  referred.  Those  who  defy  law,  and  scout 
constitutional  obligations,  will,  if  we  ever  reach  the 
arbitrament  of  arms,  find  occupation  enough  at  home." 

From  1861  to  1865,  the  ex- President  remained  in 
retirement  at  his  home  in  Concord,  N.H.  He  took  no 
active  part  in  the  strife,  except  occasionally  by  open 
letters  or  public  addresses  he  passionately  denounced 
the  coercion  of  the  seceded  States,  and  the  general 
conduct  of  the  war.  In  one  of  these  addresses,  he 
called  Vallandigham  "  that  noble  martyr  of  free  speech." 

The  death  of  his  wife  saddened  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  His  depression  of  spirits  was  still  more  enhanced 
by  the  death  of  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  his  most  inti- 
mate and  cherished  friend.  His  health  began  to  decline 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  civil  war.  He  died  Oct. 
8,  1869,  at  Concord. 

Whatever  may  have  been  his  political  short-comings, 
and  his  inability  to  grasp  the  great  questions  of  the 
day  with  a  statesmanlike  grip,  President  Pierce  was  in 
private  life  greatly  beloved.  His  amiable  qualities  and 
his  winning  manners  won  many  friends,  to  whom  he 
ever  proved  true  and  faithful.  As  a  husband,  he  was 
devoted ;  as  a  father,  tender  ;  as  a  man,  devout  and 
kindly.  His  death  saddened  many  hearts  who  knew 
little  and  cared  less  for  his  political  career,  or  his  views 
on  national  subjects. 


JAMES  BUCHANAN. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN  was  the  last  Democrat  to  hold  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States  before  the  war, 
and  his  term  of  office  occupies,  in  the  annals  of  the 
country,  a  most  unique  and  memorable  position.  His 
administration  was  the  only  one  in  which  a  condition 
of  war  existed,  without  formal  declaration,  from  his 
inauguration  to  the  end. 

James  Buchanan  was  born  in  a  little  town  in  Frank- 
lin County,  Penn.,  dignified  by  the  peculiar  name  of 
Stony  Batter,  "at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  ridge  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  April  23,  1791 ;  thus,  as  he 
sometimes  said,  he  lacked  "  but  a  broad  limestone  val- 
ley of  being  born  in  Maryland."  The  spot  where  Mr. 
Buchanan  first  saw  the  light  of  day  is  a  wild,  romantic 
gorge  surrounded  by  the  towering  summits  of  eternal 
hills.  The  chimney  of  the  old  Buchanan  cabin  is  still 
to  be  seen  in  an  expiring  state,  marking  the  ex-Presi- 
dent's birthplace.  Mr.  Buchanan's  father  was  a  native 
of  North  Ireland,  and  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1783.  He  was  poor  but  industrious,  and  before  his 
death  he  had  acquired  a  handsome  competency.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Pennsylvania  and  became  a 

405 


406  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

pioneer  in  American  civilization.  James  Buchanan 
was  born  in  a  log  cabin,  and  lived  there  till  he  was 
eight  years  of  age.  His  father  had  an  excellent  English 
education,  his  mother  an  uncommon  intellect. 

In  1798,  Mr.  Buchanan's  father  moved  to  Mercersburg, 
where  the  son  received  his  early  education  in  English, 
Latin,  and  Greek.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered 
Dickson  College  at  Carlisle,  in  Cumberland  County, 
and  at  once  took  rank  among  the  most  indefatigable 
students.  He  graduated  with  the  highest  collegiate 
honors  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  a  tall,  slender,  and  grace- 
ful youth.  Cradled  in  poverty,  inured  to  hardships  and 
toil  at  home  and  in  the  forests,  dexterous  with  the  rifle 
like  a  true  back-woodsman,  he  had  the  firm  collegiate 
foundation  adequate  to  support  the  life  which  followed. 
Soon  after  graduating  from  college  he  began  the  study 
of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  Nov.  17,  1812,  and 
rose  rapidly  in  his  profession,  till  he  became  distinguished, 
throughout  the  State,  already  celebrated  for  the  ability 
of  her  lawyers.  With  her  Baldwins,  Gibsons,  Roses, 
Duncans,  Breckinridges,  and  her  Semples,  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  obliged  to  struggle  for  that  eminence  in  his  profes- 
sion which  he  attained  and  held,  till  his  name  appears 
more  frequently  in  the  Pennsylvania  reports  than  that 
of  any  lawyer  of  his  day.  Very  soon  this  prominence 
forced  him  to  consent  to  become  a  candidate  for  Con- 
gress, a  position  which  he  held  for  ten  years,  when  he 
peremptorily  declined  renomination.  In  1831,  he  retired 
altogether  from  his  profession,  having  already  accumu- 
lated an  ample  competence.  Only  once  after  that  was 
he  prevailed  upon  to  appear  at  the  bar.  This  was  in 
behalf  of  an  aged  widow,  in  an  act  of  ejectment  which 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  407 

involved  all  her  little  property.  The  case  was  a  diffi- 
cult one;  and,  technically,  decidedly  against  the  unfor- 
tunate woman.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  establishing 
her  title  to  the  property  in  question  ;  but,  to  her  ex- 
pressions of  gratefulness  and  offers  of  remuneration*, 
Mr.  Buchanan  positively  refused  to  accept  any  thing 
for  his  services. 

Even  as  early  as  during  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Buchanan 
signalized  his  devotion  to  his  country  in  an  address  of 
great  ability,  which  he  followed  by  registering  his  name 
as  the  first  volunteer,  serving  as  a  private,  and  using 
all  his  influence  vigorously  to  prosecute  the  war;  thus 
laying  an  indestructible  foundation  for  vindicating  the 
exceptions  taken  by  political  enemies  to  his  Congres- 
sional record  in  later  years.  Whatever  opinion  may  be 
held  concerning  his  political  preferences  during  his  ten 
years  in  Congress,  no  one  to-day  attempts  to  impeach 
the  honesty  and  integrity  of  James  Buchanan.  As  an 
instance  of  the  earnestness  and  sincerity  with  which  he 
performed  his  public  duties,  an  extract  might  be  made 
from  the  speech  which  he  delivered  on  the  12th  of 
March,  1822,  in  which  he  said,  "  I  have  the  honor  of 
representing  an  honest,  a  wealthy,  and  a  respectable 
agricultural  community ;  and  I  owe  it  to  them,  to  my 
conscience,  and  to  my  God,  not  to  suffer  this  bill  to 
pass,  which  I  conceive  to  be  fraught  with  destruction 
to  their  best  interests,  both  moral  and  political,  without 
at  least  entering  my  solemn  protest  against  its  provis- 
ions." This  spirit  followed  Mr.  Buchanan  throughout 
his  public  career. 

In  his  speech  upon  the  tariff  question,  he  said  of 
himself,  "If  I  know  myself,  I  am  a  politician  neither 


408  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

of  the  East  nor  of  the  West,  of  the  North  nor  of  the 
South ;  I  therefore  shall  forever  avoid  any  exceptions, 
sectionally,  the  direct  tendency  of  which  must  be  to 
create  sectional  jealousies,  sectional  divisions,  and  at 
length  disunion,  —  that  worst  and  last  of  all  political 
calamities." 

In  Congress,  Mr.  Buchanan  came  in  contact  with 
Webster  of  Massachusetts,  Clay  of  Kentucky,  and 
Livingston  of  Louisiana.  In  every  important  debate 
during  the  ten  years,  Mr.  Buchanan  took  a  prominent 
part,  often  crossing  swords  with  these  brilliant  lights 
in  American  statesmanship ;  while  extracts  from  his 
speeches  soon  became  popular  selections  for  the  juve- 
nile rostrum,  and  echoed  about  the  angular  walls  of 
many  a  district  school. 

From  the  prominent  position  which  Mr.  Buchanan 
took  in  the  campaign  when  his  friend  Gen.  Jackson 
was  elected  to  the  presidency,  he  became  the  special 
mark  of  the  malignancy  of  his  enemies.  He  was 
assailed  with  all  the  bitterness  which  party  spirit  could 
invoke,  but  firm  in  his  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
distinguished  man  whom  he  supported  for  the  highest 
office  of  the  people,  he  never  wavered  in  his  support. 
Especially  did  Mr.  Buchanan  distinguish  himself  in  the 
consideration  by  the  legislative  body  of  the  impeach- 
ment of  James  H.  Peck,  judge  of  the  District  Court  of 
the  United  States  for  the  district  of  Missouri ;  and 
there  is  no  man,  in  whose  bosom  beats  a  true  American 
heart,  who  cannot  thank  him  for  the  noble  sentiments 
which  he  uttered  before  the  assembled  tribunal  of  the 
nation  on  that  occasion. 

Ten  successive  years  in  the  popular  branch  of  the 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  409 

National  Legislature  necessarily  gives  a  man  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  details  of  legislation,  and  quali- 
fies him  for  more  responsible  positions.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  Mr.  Buchanan  won  his  position  in  the 
hearts  of  the  American  people  by  the  laborious  indus- 
try of  a  long  life  devoted  to  their  interests,  and  by 
those  qualities  of  head  and  heart  which  fitted  him  for 
retaining,  in  so  remarkable  a  degree,  the  confidence  be- 
stowed, and  in  discharging  so  acceptably  the  responsible 
duties  with  which  he  was  afterward  intrusted.  He 
entered  Congress  at  a  period  when  party  lines  were  not 
drawn  with  that  rigid  exactness  which  has  marked 
political  life  since  that  time.  The  Federal  party  had 
been  dissolved  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
political  issues  had  not  again  assumed  a  definite  form. 
He  began  his  career  in  Congress,  fighting  for  the  cause 
of  equal  rights,  with  special  privileges  for  none,  and 
justice  for  all. 

When  Monroe's  famous  message  upon  the  subject  of 
internal  improvements  appeared,  he  gave  it  his  unquali- 
fied indorsement.  On  the  tariff  question  he  was  with 
Gen.  Jackson,  denying  the  right  of  Congress  to  levy 
duties  except  for  revenue.  He  appeared  as  the  distinct 
foe  of  sectional  strife  and  any  attempt  to  destroy  the 
Constitution,  ranking  second  to  none  in  the  ability  and 
vigor  with  which  he  supported  the  freedom  of  the  press 
and  the  rights  of  the  people. 

Shortly  after  his  voluntary  retirement  from  Congress, 
President  Jackson  appointed  him  minister  to  Russia, 
which  distinguished  office  he  held  with  honor  to  himself 
and  his  country.  His  diplomatic  life  was  marked  with 
the  same  regard  for  duty,  and  the  same  careful  concern 


410  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

for  the  interests  of  his  country.  He  negotiated  the 
first  commercial  treaty  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States,  securing  valuable  advantages  for  our  commerce 
in  the  Black  and  Baltic  Seas.  After  his  return  from 
Russia,  in  1834,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  the  United-States  Senate  caused  by  the  res- 
ignation of  Judge  Wilkins.  He  returned  to  Congress 
just  in  time  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  his  friend  in  the 
storm  which  the  rigid  principles  of  Gen.  Jackson  had 
inaugurated,  and  to  bear  an  important  part  in  the 
memorable  struggles  of  his  administration. 

Among  the  important  questions  that  came  before  the 
Senate  at  this  time  was  the  subject  of  slavery.  The 
subject  was  then,  in  most  of  its  aspects,  a  new  one.  It 
had  previously  been  before  Congress  only  as  a  measure 
excluding  it  from  further  extension.  Now  (1835)  it 
assumed  a  different  form.  The  reception  of  this  aboli- 
tion exotic  was  at  first  looked  upon  with  scorn  and  dis- 
dain. Its  advocates  were  mobbed  as  cheerfully  in  the 
North  as  in  the  South.  The  general  sentiment  of 
the  community  at  large  was  in  opposition  to  slavery  in 
the  abstract,  but  any  thing  that  savored  of  placing 
white  men  and  negroes  upon  terms  of  social  equality 
was  distinctly  rejected  as  outrageous.  Mr.  Buchanan 
vigorously  opposed  slavery  in  the  abstract ;  but,  like 
many  others,  went  to  the  utmost  limit  of  the  Constitu- 
tion in  protecting  the  Southern  States  from  what  was 
then  thought  to  be  incendiary  publications.  If  the 
danger  which  was  feared  of  a  negro  insurrection  had 
been  what  it  was  supposed  to  b"e  at  that  time,  the  views 
of  such  as  Mr.  Buchanan  would  have  been  just  and 
proper ;  but  the  more  extended  acquaintance  with  the 


JAMES   BITCH  AN  AN.  411 

subject,  which  experience  has  developed,  precludes 
the  possibility  of  further  argument. 

Throughout  the  administration  of  Gen.  Jackson,  Mr. 
Buchanan  remained  his  staunch  friend.  In  1840,  when 
Congress  assembled,  on  the  7th  of  December,  the  whirl- 
wind of  the  campaign  had  spent  its  force.  Gen.  Harri- 
son had  been  elected ;  and  the  session  saw  no  very 
important  legislation,  but  more  of  a  review  of  the  past, 
and  speculations  as  to  the  future.  The  day  had  not 
passed,  however,  when  many  hoped  to  gain  something 
by  attacking  Gen.  Jackson ;  and  in  reply  to  some 
derogatory  remarks  of  a  distinguished  senator,  Mr. 
Buchanan  exclaimed,  "  Gen.  Jackson  has  now  retired 
to  the  Hermitage,  and  may  live  to  have  the  judgment 
of  posterity,  as  it  were,  passed  upon  him.  He  was  an 
able,  sagacious,  and  truly  patriotic  man  ;  and  I  now 
say  that  those  of  us,  if  there  be  any  such,  who  shall 
survive  a  quarter  of  a  century  longer  will  live  to  see 
the  day  when  Jackson's  name  and  fame  shall  be  cher- 
ished alike  by  persons  of  all  political  parties."  It  was 
a  prediction  which  came  true  much  sooner  than  Mr. 
Buchanan  anticipated. 

In  the  following  Congress,  the  extra  session  con- 
voked by  Gen.  garrison,  but  which  did  not  assemble 
till  after  his  death  and  the  assumption  of  the  chief 
magistracy  by  Vice-Presideut  Tyler,  the  first  measure 
introduced  by  the  new  party  was  the  repeal  of  the 
independent  treasury  act.  The  Democracy  resisted  it 
with  all  their  might,  but  Mr.  Buchanan  and  his  sup- 
porters were  in  the  minorit}'.  Mr.  Buchanan  appeared 
as  the  leader  of  his  party,  and  in  many  an  excited 
debate,  with  his  plain  facts  resolutely  asserted,  met  the 


412  LIVES    OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

brilliancy  and  wit  of  Mr.  Clay.  The  veto  power,  the 
territorial  government  of  Oregon,  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  called  every  latent  power  into  activity,  and 
raised  him  still  higher  in  the  estimation  of  both  friends 
and  foes  as  an  accomplished  and  brilliant  leader.  And 
again,  in  1844,  the  election  of  James  K.  Polk  and  the 
favorable  issue  before  the  people  of  the  annexation  of 
Texas  gave  renewed  power  to  the  Democracy,  and  pre- 
cedence to  its  leader.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  the  only 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations  in  the 
Senate,  to  which  the  subject  was  referred,  who  had 
reported  favorably  upon  the  annexation ;  and  his  final 
vote  to  admit  Texas  into  the  American  Union  completed 
his  senatorial  career. 

He  resigned  his  position  as  senator  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, —  a  place  which  he  had  held  for  ten  years  with 
so  much  honor  for  himself,  his  party,  and  the  nation, — 
to  accept  the  position  of  Secretary  of  State  in  the  cabi- 
net of  President  Polk,  occupying  the  chief  position  in 
that  cabinet  which  conducted  the  brilliant  campaign " 
in  Mexico,  and  planted  the  stars  and  stripes  in  Cali- 
fornia. When  he  left  the  State  Department,  our 
country  was  at  peace  both  at  home  and  abroad,  our  ter- 
ritory had  been  enlarged,  and  our  commerce  extended. 
Untold  riches  were  falling  into  the  country,  prosperity 
was  everywhere  visible,  our  States  were  growing  with 
unexampled  rapidity,  and  railroads  were  stretching 
into  the  West,  in  great  part  due  to  the  statesman-like 
foresight  that  had  opened  and  secured  California  to  the 
adventurous  spirit  of  American  genius  and  enterprise. 

Throughout  his  entire  career,  he  had  relied  upon  the 
plain,   outspoken   truth,   appealing   to    common    sense 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  413 

rather  than  to  fancy  or  imagination,  adhering  strictly 
to  simple,  yet  graceful  and  eloquent  language.  In  no 
speech  of  his  was  there  apparent  a  desire  to  catch  the 
breath  of  temporary  applause ;  but  firm,  dignified,  and 
impressive,  in  advance  of  his  opinions  as  he  was  resolute 
and  energetic  in  maintaining  them,  he  presented,  by  his 
urbanity  in  debate  and  purity  in  patriotism,  a  model 
American  statesman.  No  man  who  understood  Mr. 
Buchanan's  character  could  ever  suspect  him  of  bluster 
or  bravado.  Upon  all  public  questions  he  was  awarded 
a  leading  part,  and  in  all  positions  he  acquitted  himself 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  supporters. 

The  reputation  that  a  person  acquires  in  life  may 
pass  away  like  a  dream  before  the  inexorable  justice  of 
history ;  the  newspapers  of  the  day  may  create  a  fame 
which  will  last  for  a  time ;  but  posterity  will  judge  of 
men  by  the  advantages  which  they  have  brought  to  it, 
and  by  ideas  which  will  live  and  breathe  as  sentiments 
when  they  are  gone.  He  was  always  firm  in  his  politi- 
cal views,  but  moderate  and  conciliatory  in  expressing 
them. 

Upon  the  election  of  Gen.  Taylor,  Mr.  Buchanan 
gladly  sought  the  rest  and  quiet  of  private  life,  which 
a  long,  uninterrupted  devotion  to  public  service  ren- 
dered as  agreeable  as  it  was  necessary.  He  had  never 
sought  for  public  honors ;  bu/t,  taken  up  at  an  early  age 
by  his  neighbors,  and  placed  in  public  life,  he  had 
acquitted  himself  with  such  honesty,  devotion,  and 
singleness  of  purpose,  that,  step  by  step,  his  preferment 
came  almost  of  necessity.  When  the  Baltimore  con- 
vention met  in  1852,  a  large  number  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
friends  desired  to  nominate  him  for  the  presidency. 


414  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

They  failed  in  this,  but  no  one  gave  the  successful  can- 
didate more  generous  and  hearty  support  than  did 
Mr.  Buchanan.  When  the  campaign  was  over,  Presi- 
dent Pierce  tendered  to  his  firm  supporter  the  mission 
to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  an  office  at  the  time  only 
second  to  the  position  of  the  President  in  social,  politi- 
cal, and  financial  importance.  While  holding  this  office, 
two  questions  arose  which  required  of  him  consum- 
mate tact  for  their  proper  management,  and  in  dealing 
with  which  the  direct  American  plainness  and  honesty 
of  Mr.  Buchanan's  diplomatic  papers  puzzled  the  old- 
school  European  tricksters,  who  were  not  accustomed 
to  downright  frankness,  and  eventually  overcame  them  ; 
and  in  August,  1853,  the  President  transmitted  to  him 
full  power  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in 
relation  to  the  Central-American  questions. 

At  his  own  urgent  request,  several  times  repeated, 
Mr.  Buchanan  was  at  last  relieved  from  the  vexing 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  office,  and  returned  to 
his  native  country  on  the  23d  of  April,  1856. 

His  course  had  been  watched  with  interest  and  anx- 
iety by  his  fellow-citizens ;  and  when  the  Common 
Council  of  New-York  City  determined,  without  respect' 
to  party,  to  unite  in  giving  him  a  public  reception,  it 
but  expressed  the  general  impulse  of  gratefulness  to 
him  for  his  distinguished  services.  The  following  pre- 
amble and  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by  the 
city  authorities :  — 

"  Whereas,  Mr.  Buchanan's  patriotic,  dignified,  and 
able  course  as  representative  of  his  country  at  the 
British  court,  and  especially  the  judgment  and  ability 
displayed  in  conducting  the  recent  negotiations  with 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  415 

Great  Britain,  have  commanded  the  admiration  and 
approval  of  the  American  people  ;  and, 

"  Whereas,  the  respect  entertained  by  our  citizens, 
without  distinction  of  party,  for  his  exalted  character 
and  commanding  talents  as  evidenced  in  a  long  career 
of  conspicuous  public  service,  ought  to  find  a  fitting 
expression  in  their  representatives  in  the  common 
council ;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  that  a  select  committee  of  five  be  appointed 
to  receive  the  Hon.  James  Buchanan  on  his  arrival  at 
this  port,  as  the  guest  of  this  city,  and  tender  to  him 
the  hospitalities  thereof." 

The  reception  was  cordial  and  enthusiastic.  Cheer 
after  cheer  attested  the  earnest  and  deep  affection 
which  the  public  always  bestows  upon  a  faithful  ser- 
vant, as  Mr.  Buchanan  landed  from  the  steamer.  A 
public  dinner  was  tendered  him  by  the  corporation, 
which  Mr.  Buchanan  politely  but  decidedly  declined. 

Long  before  Mr.  Buchanan's  return,  a  large  and 
influential  portion  of  his  political  friends,  in  different 
parts  of  the  United  States,  forwarded  his  name  as  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency.  The  Democratic  conven- 
tion in  his  own  State  also  presented  his  name  to  the 
public.  The  time  and  circumstances  seemed  to  con- 
spire in  his  favor.  Never  since  the  formation  of  our 
Government  had  a  more  formidable  agitation  been  con- 
ceived or  conducted  upon  such  systematic  principles. 
Whatever  action  there  was  in  his  favor  was  the 
spontaneous  moving  of  the  people  in  their  primary 
organizations.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  Cincinnati,  on 
the  second  day  of  June,  when  Mr.  Buchanan  was 


416  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

unanimously  nominated  on  the  seventh  ballot.  Such 
was  the  man  presented  to  the  American  people  for 
their  suffrages,  in  the  sunset  of  an  honorable  life,  with 
his  eye  yet  undimmed,  his  natural  force  unabated ;  and 
such  was  the  man  whom  the  people  selected  as  their 
chief  magistrate. 

President  Pierce  had  left  his  successor  the  legacy  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  imbroglio.  During  the  latter  part 
of  the  Pierce  administration,  the  hostile  camps  had 
come  very  close  to  each  other  with  their  organized 
bands,  each  claiming  to  be  the  legitimate  militia  of  the 
Territory,  engaging  in  battle  on  the  plains  of  Kansas, 
and  sacking  towns  at  their  pleasure.  Here  in  reality 
was  the  germ  of  the  Rebellion.  The  Southerners  were 
Missourians  and  Texans,  whose  only  real  object  seemed 
to  be  to  insist  upon  the  promotion  of  slavery,  and  who 
were  not,  many  of  them,  actual  settlers,  but  were  known 
as  border  ruffians ;  while  the  Northerners  were  from 
nearly  all  of  the  free  States,  and  came  to  till  the  soil 
and  establish  manufactures,  not  to  practise  with  Sharp's 
rifles  and  Colt's  revolvers.  But  necessity  was  the 
mother  of  invention,  and  the  few  real  combatants  knew 
no  bounds.  Little  quarter  was  ever  given,  and  mid- 
night assassinations  and  hangings  were  of  continuous 
occurrence  on  both  sides.  Such  was  the  state  of  things 
which  Mr.  Buchanan  found  before  him  when  he  took 
his  seat  in  the  White  House  ;  and  the  work  of  pacifica- 
tion was  arduous  enough  to  tax  to-  the  utmost  the  ex- 
perience he  had  obtained  in  his  years  of  public  service. 
The  Federal  officials  upon  the  spot  were  obliged  to 
support  sometimes  one  party,  sometimes  the  other ; 
while  the  governors  sent  out  from  Washington  gave  up 
their  places  in  despair. 


JAMES    BUCHANAN.  417 

Conspicuous  among  the  Free-State  leaders  were  John 
Brown  and  his  four  sons.  In  the  defence  of  Ossawat- 
tomie,  the  Browns  gained  their  first-  decided  notoriety. 
It  was  a  little  village  in  Kansas,  near  the  Missouri 
State  line.  John  Brown,  with  sixteen  followers,  held 
the  place  against  several  hundred  marauders  from  over 
the  border.  With  a  loss  of  but  two  men,  he  succeeded 
in  killing  and  wounding  nearly  eighty  of  their  number, 
which  made  him  the  terror  of  his  enemies,  and  gave 
him  the  sobriquet  of  "  Ossawattomie  Brown,"  by  which 
he  was  afterward  known  throughout  the  country. 

President  Buchanan,  elected  in  1856,  was  inaugurated 
March  4,  1857,  and  called  to  his  cabinet  Lewis  Cass 
of  Michigan  as  Secretary  of  State ;  Ho  well  Cobb  of 
Georgia,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  John  B.  Floyd 
of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  War;  Isaac  Toucey  of  Con- 
necticut, Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Jacob  Thompson  of 
Mississippi,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Jeremiah  Black 
of  Pennsylvania,  Attorney-General ,  and  Horatio  King  of 
Maine,  Postmaster-General,  —  a  list  of  gentlemen  every- 
where admitted  to  be  among  the  ablest  statesmen  of 
the  day ;  and.  except  upon  the  question  of  slavery, 
their  actions  throughout  the  numerous  difficulties  in 
their  path  met  with  the  approval  of  the  country. 
Being  Democrats,  and  a  part  of  them  Southerners,  they 
.were  naturally  strongly  biased  in  their  views  at  the 
time,  as  were  all  their  political  adversaries  in  the  United 
States.  Prominent  among  the  vexatious  subjects  not 
at  all  connected  with  slavery,  to  which  Mr.  Buchanan 
succeeded,  was  the  disturbed  condition  of  affairs  with' 
Great  Britain.  The  relations  between  the  two  coun- 
tries were  strained.  The  British  minister  Crampton 


418  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

had  been  dismissed  from  Washington  for  enlisting 
soldiers  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia  for  service  in 
the  English  army  in  the  Crimea ,  and  the  course  of  the 
British  in  Central  America  was,  likewise,  troublesome, 
and  very  much  in  violation  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
Neither  had  England  relinquished  the  right  of  search, 
which  had  caused  the  war  of  1812;  and  the  practice  of 
stopping  and  searching  American  vessels,  upon  the 
alleged  suspicion  that  they  were  engaged  in  the  slave- 
trade,  was  put  into  frequent  action  by  British  cruisers 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

With  his  usual  clear-headed,  straightforward  deter- 
mination, Mr.  Buchanan  resolved  to  deal  peremptorily 
with  this  question.  His  experience  as  United-States 
minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James  well  acquainted  him 
with  the  situation,  and  of  all  men  in  the  United  States 
he  was  competent  to  act  peremptorily  and  with  decision. 
The  American  navy  was  small,  but  it  had  never  been  in 
any  better  condition  ;  and  in  it  were  some  of  the  finest 
war  ships  afloat,  wjth  a  corps  of  skilled  and  able  officers 
who  were  quite  ready,  as  they  afterward  abundantly 
proved,  to  undertake  any  daring  enterprise  whatsoever. 
In  1858,  these  aggravating  cases  of  the  boarding  of 
American  vessels  by  British  cruisers  increased  in  num- 
ber, aird  created  a  marked  excitement  and  indignation 
throughout  the  country  at  large.  The  President  de- 
manded explanations  from  England.  Gen.  Cass,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  addressed  Lord  Napier,  the  new  British 
ambassador  at  Washington ;  and  Mr.  Dallas,  the 
American  minister  in  London,  was  instructed  to  de- 
mand compensation  for  the  outrages,  and  to  insist  per- 
emptorily on  their  cessation.  In  the  mean  time  the 


JAMES    BUCHANAN.  419 

Gulf  squadron  was  materially  strengthening,  and  the 
"  Colorado,"  a  powerful  frigate  of  the  first  class,  was 
sent  there  with  specific  orders  to  stop  all  interference 
with  the  American  ships,  from  whatever  quarter  it 
might  come.  Both  political  parties  united  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government,  and  the  Senate  unanimously 
adopted  a  resolution  introduced  by  Mr.  Seward  for 
immediate  and  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts. 

At  last  England  awoke  to  the  situation.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  the  United  States  was  in  earnest ;  and  that  if 
the  right  to  search  were  insisted  on,  the  next  step  would 
be  another  conflict,  with  chances  for  success  even  less 
than  before.  Therefore,  all  things  considered,  the 
British  Government  announced  its  willingness  to  discuss 
the  question.  The  excitement  at  once  calmed  down, 
and  the  nations  met  each  other,  through  their  represen- 
tatives, with  such  satisfactory  results  that,  on  Monday, 
July  5,  while  the  American  citizens  in  London  were 
celebrating  the  eighty-second  anniversary  of  American 
independence,  Mr.  Dallas  informed  the  guests  assembled 
that  the  right  of  search,  and  even  the  right  of  visiting, 
had  been  totally  renounced  by  the  British  Government ; 
and  thus  was  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion  one  dan- 
gerous controversy,  which  had  so  long  threatened  the 
peace  or  the  two  nations. 

The  laying  of  the  first  Atlantic  cable,  which  was 
begun  a  month  later,  added  much  to  the  better  feeling 
between  the  two  countries.  Expressions  of  good  will 
and  hopes  for  commercial  prosperity  were  sent  as  salu- 
tations from  each  to  the  other  by  cable.  Messages 
were  exchanged  between  President  Buchanan  and 
Queen  Victoria ;  and,  in  the  general  astonishment  and 


420  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

enthusiasm,  in  grand  celebrations,  illuminations,  torch- 
light processions,  military  parades,  and  other  joyous 
demonstrations,  the  American  people  forgot  their  bitter- 
ness toward  England,  and  began  to  feel  that  Great 
Britain  was  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  neighbors. 
This  change  of  sentiment  was  in  great  part  due  to  the 
skilful  and  earnest  treatment  which  the  entanglement 
received  at  the  hands  of  President  Buchanan. 

Another  incident  which  encouraged  the  best  of  feel- 
ing was  brought  about  in  the  course  of  the  naval  oper- 
ations in  Chinese  waters,  carried  on  by  the  British 
Admiral  Hope,  during  the  war  between  England  and 
China.  He  undertook  to  reduce  the  forts  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river ;  but,  through  ignorance  of  the  water  and 
tides,  three  of  his  vessels  got  aground,  directly  under 
the  guns  of  the  fort,  and  would  have  been  utterly  de- 
stroyed or  captured,  for  the  rest  of  the  fleet  was  obliged 
to  retire ;  but  Commodore  Tatnall,  commanding  the 
American  fleet,  who  was  watching  the  fight,  bore  down 
in  his  own  flag-ship,  and  pulled  the  English  ships  out 
of  range.  Shortly  after  this  the  British  Government 
ceded  the  Bay  Islands  to  Honduras,  thus  ending  the 
long  dispute  over  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

The  Mormon  question,  too,  which  had  appeared  like 
a  threatening  cloud  upon  the  horizon  during  the  Pierce 
administration,  now  assumed  most  serious  proportions 
for  Mr.  Buchanan.  The  territory  of  Utah,  under  the 
governorship  of  Brigham  Young,  publicly  announced  a 
positive  rebellion  against  the  authority  of  the  United 
States.  Gentiles  were  murdered,  and  the  Federal 
courts  rendered  inoperative ;  even  the  military  power 
of  the  Government  being  defied.  Again  President 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  421 

Buchanan  dealt  his  vigorous  and  decisive  blows,  and 
settled  the  question  temporarily  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  the  country.  He  sent  out  an  army  corps  of 
about  three  thousand  men,  comprising  several  regiments 
of  infantry,  artillery,  and  cavalry,  under  the  famous 
Gen.  Albert  S.  Johnston,  which  made  such  an  impos- 
ing force  on  its  march  into  the  Territory  that  the  Saints 
at  once  opened  negotiations  and  tendered  submission, 
some  time  before  the  advance  guard  arrived  in  Salt 
Lake.  Commissioners  empowered  to  arrange  the  mat- 
ter accompanied  the  troops,  and  a  new  governor  and  a 
new  judge  were  inaugurated  without  conflict. 

The  following  year  James  Buchanan's  administration 
was  destined  to  see  even  greater  excitement,  in  the 
threatened  insurrection  and  the  John  Brown  raid, 
which  took  place  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  1859,  creating 
the  profoundest  impression  all  over  the  country,  and 
proving  the  final  incident,  previous  to  the  election  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  which  induced  the  secession  of  the 
Southern  States.  It  was  only  the  climax  of  what  had 
been  growing  in  the  Kansas  warfare,  the  Dred  Scott 
Decision,  and  the  suspected  plot  of  insurrection  among 
the  slaves ;  and  in  the  sympathy  expressed  in  the  North 
for  John  Brown  and  his  companions,  the  impetuous 
Southerners  became  thoroughly  enraged  and  alarmed. 
The  success  of  John  Brown's  endeavors  was  an  impos- 
sibility from  the  start,  but  its  influence  at  the  moment 
was  most  important. 

The  last  year  of  the  Buchanan  administration  was 
one  of  the  utmost  political  tumult ;  with  the  Walker 
filibustering  expeditions  from  Southern  ports  against 
Central  America,  and  the  secession  threats  from  South 


422  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Carolina,  it  was  a  period  of  intense  though  gloomy  ex- 
citement. It  became  evident  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
would  be  elected  President  by  the  Republican  party, 
over  the  candidates  of  the  divided  Democracy,  and  that 
incipient  war  would  at  once  be  inaugurated.  The 
Democrats  were  cast  down  and  hopeless  through  the 
split  in  their  party;  while  the  Republicans,  though 
assured  of  a  political  victory,  were  gravely  apprehen- 
sive of  what  was  to  follow.  The  only  agreeable  inci- 
dent of  the  year  was  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
then  a  youth  of  nineteen,  travelling  with  his  tutors. 
While  he  was  in  Canada  he  was  invited  to  the  States 
and  to  Washington  by  President  Buchanan.  He  came 
early  in  October,  and  was  royally  received  throughout 
his  journey,  spending  nearly  a  week  at  West  Point,  as 
the  guest  of  Gen.  Scott. 

After  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  the  seven  Southern 
States  which  seceded,  formed  themselves  into  a  confed- 
eracy and  began  preparation  for  war,  electing  Jefferson 
Davis  of  Mississippi  for  president,  and  Alexander  H. 
Stevens  for  vice-president,  Feb.  8,  1861. 

They  also  seized  one  or  two  United-States  arsenals ; 
and  South  Carolina,  acting  independently,  sent  com- 
missioners to  Washington  to  demand  the  transfers  of 
forts  and  other  property  in  the  Charleston  Harbor,  then 
belonging  to  the  Federal  Government.  President 
Buchanan  declined  to  treat  with  these  commissioners, 
reiterating  the  views  which  he  had  expressed  in  his 
last  message  to  Congress  that  it  was  unconstitutional 
for  any  State  to  secede  from  the  Union,  no  matter  what 
the  cause.  He  declared  that,  while  the  Constitution 
gave  him  no  power  to  coerce  a  sovereign  State  back  into 


JAMES    BUCHANAN.  423 

the  Union,  he  had  at  least  the  right  to  defend  Federal 
property  from  appropriation  and  confiscation.  This  he 
endeavored  to  do;  and,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1861, 
the  steamer  "Star  of  the  West"  was  sent  from  New 
York  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  troops,  and  supplies 
for  Major  Anderson  at  Fort  Sumter;  but  she  was 
fired  upon  from  the  batteries  on  the  shore  at  Charleston, 
and  was  obliged  to  turn  back. 

The  great  difficulty  in  the  President's  path  was  in 
the  fact  that  the  United  States  did  not  at  the  time  pos- 
sess sufficiently  available  forces  to  protect  its  property 
or  maintain  its  authority.  The  great  body  of  the  regu- 
lar army  was  scattered  along  the  Pacific  coast,  with 
no  railroads  for  its  concentration  and  transportation. 
The  navy  was  also  scattered ;  and,  in  view  of  some  de- 
rogatory opinions  (perhaps  thoughtlessly  expressed) 
concerning  President  Buchanan,  it  may  be  but  just  to 
suggest  that  he  hesitated,  before  the  first  gun  was  fired, 
to  do  precisely  what  his  successor  hesitated  even  longer 
in  doing ;  viz.,  to  call  upon  the  Northern  States  for  vol- 
unteers to  put  down  the  secession.  There  were  not  a 
few  to  charge  Mr.  Buchanan  with  treachery  to  the 
Union  and  favoritism  for  secession.  There  were  others 
who,  for  the  time  at  least,  regarded  him  incompetent  to 
deal  with  so  grave  a  crisis  as  that  beginning  in  1861. 
The  first  charge  has  long  since  been  dismissed  by  all 
reasonable  men  in  their  cooler  judgment ;  and  those 
who  still  think  with  the  latter  should  remember  that 
Mr.  Buchanan  was  a  statesman  of  the  old  school,  over 
seventy  years  of  age ;  not  a  soldier,  but  a  peace-loving 
citizen  of  the  Republic,  whose  chief  magistrate  he  was 
at  a  most  trying  moment,  and,  most  naturally,  was 


424  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

unwilling  to  adopt  measures  which  would  plunge  his 
country  into  the  horrors  of  fratricidal  war,  without  due 
deliberation  and  without  a  more  than  sufficiently  hostile 
act  on  the  part  of  the  seceders. 

In  his  cabinet  at  the  time  of  this  last  struggle  were 
the  able  advisers  and  stanch  Union  men,  John  A.  Dix, 
Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Joseph  Holt,  arid  Jeremiah  S.  Black  ; 
and  it  was  by  their  advice,  as  well  as  his  own,  that 
he  was  guided  at  the  time  when  lie  was  most  censured 
for  his  incompetency.  It  should  also  be  remembered 
that  President  Buchanan  must  have  been  greatly  em- 
barrassed and  hampered  by  the  action  of  the  Southern 
members  of  his  cabinet,  —  Messrs.  Thompson,  Floyd, 
and  Cobb.  Mr.  Floyd  was  at  the  time  Secretary  of 
War,  and  aroused  much  resentment  in  the  North  against 
the  administration  by  his  act  of  sending  large  quanti- 
ties of  munitions  of 'war  to  the  Federal  arsenals  in  the 
Southern  States,  claiming  that  the  South  had  never  re- 
ceived its  due  proportion.  It  was  Mr.  Floyd,  too,  who 
sent  the  great  body  of  the  regular  army  to  garrison  dis- 
tant and  inaccessible  posts  on  the  Western  plains  or 
to  Texas,  where  they  were  subsequently  surrendered  to 
the  Confederacy  by  the  perfidious  Gen.  Twiggs.  Had 
these  troops  been  available  at  Washington  at  the  time, 
it  would  have  been  possible  for  the  President  to  re-en- 
force and  perhaps  to  hold  the  United  States  forts  on 
the  Southern  coasts,  and  thus  to  check  the  Rebellion ; 
while  it  is  by  all  means  probable  that  those  who  cen- 
sured him  most  for  inaction  would  have  considered  him 
far  from  justified  in  calling  out  seventy-five  thousand 
volunteers  before  any  overt  act  had  been  committed, 
beyond  the  shouting  of  a  convention  of  mad  men,  who 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  425 

cried  themselves  hoarse  to  prove  they  were  out  of  the 
Union. 

Judging  from  the  selection  which  Mr.  Buchanan 
made  to  fill  in  his  cabinet  the  places  of  the  Southern 
members  resigned,  and  the  patriotic  action  of  the  new 
body,  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that,  had  it  fallen  to 
the  lot  of  Mr.  Buchanan  to  be  his  own  successor,  he 
would  not  have  taken  energetic  measures  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Union,  when  at  last  the  firing  on  S  uni- 
te r  gave  the  final  signal  for  vigorous  action.  At  all 
events  he  saved  the  National  capital  from  the  intended 
seizure  by  conspiring  secessionists,  and  he  turned  it 
over  to  the  new.  President,  with  all  its  governmental 
departments  intact. 

During  his  administration  Mr.  Buchanan  saw  three 
new  States  added  to  the  Union,  —  Minnesota,  Oregon, 
and  Kansas.  The  census  showed  an  increase  of  eight 
millions  in  the  population,  and  the  financial  statement 
exhibited  a  nation  comparatively  free  from  debt,  and 
with  a  surplus  in  the  Treasury. 

After  Mr.  Buchanan's  retirement  from  office  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Wheatland,  where,  though  often 
much  abused  by  political  opponents,  he  still  retained  a 
vivid  interest  in  his  country's  affairs,  as  is  evidenced  in 
many  letters  written  in  the  course  of  his  extended  cor- 
respondence with  the  highest  officials  of  the  nation 
throughout  the  war. 

In  1866  he  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  his  favorite 
niece,  Miss  Lane,  whose  home  had  been  with  him,  mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Johnson  of  Baltimore.  But  the  world  with 
its  interests  gradually  faded  away,  and  the  unknown 
future  opened  before  him.  He  was  never  married,  but 


426  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

his  home  was  always  the  favorite  resort  of  many  friends 
and  relatives.  During  his  last  illness  there  were  with 
him  the  Rev.  Dr.  Buchanan,  his  brother ;  Miss  Buchanan, 
the  doctor's  daughter ;  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  Mr.  Henry, 
and  the  ever  faithful  Miss  Hetty.  Kind  neighbors  too 
were  at  hand.  The  immediate  cause  of  his  death  was 
rheumatic  gout.  It  occurred  on  the  morning  of  June 
1,  1868,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  The  funeral  obse- 
quies tcrt)k  place  at  Lancaster  on  the  4th  of  June  ;  the 
sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  John  \V.  Nevin, 
D.D.,  president  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College. 
The  remains  of  President  Buchanan  lie  in  a  beautiful 
rural  cemetery  near  the  city  of  Lancaster,  beneath  a 
simple  monument  which  records  only  the  date  of  his 
birth  and  of  his  death,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
fifteenth  President  of  the  United  States. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

THE  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  a  most  potent  illus- 
tration of  the  fact  that  good  parts  make  great  actors. 
A  typical  American  from  boyhood  to  death,  he  started 
with  nothing,  utilizing  every  opportunity  for  advance- 
ment, and  honestly  earning  a  right  to  live  forever 
enshrined  in  the  Jieart  of  his  country. 

The  Republican  party  was  born  of  public  necessity 
during  the  administration  of  Washington  and  the  elder 
Adams,  and  kept  its  organization  and  faith  till  1833, 
when  it  was  temporarily  dissolved.  Twenty-three  years 
later  it  was  re-formed  for  the  defence  of  freedom  of  the 
person,  of  speech,  and  of  the  press,  and  for  resistance 
to  the  usurpations  resulting  from  the  substitution  of 
the  Calhoun  policy  for  that  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. The  choice  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for  Presi- 
dent marked  the  victory  of  the  reformed  party,  and 
the  immortal  standard-bearer  led  them  on  to  greater 
triumphs. 

The  Lincolns  originally  came  from  England,  settling 
in  Hingham,  Mass.,  about  1638 ;  thence  they  moved 
to  Pennsylvania ;  and,  in  1782,  again  westward ;  till 
Abraham  Lincoln,  grandfather  of  the  President,  entered 

427 


428  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

four  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  Licking 
Creek,  under  a  government  warrant,  and  built  a  log 
cabin  near  Fort  Beargrass,  the  site  of  the  present  city 
of  Louisville,  Ky.  In  the  second  year  of  their  Ken- 
tucky settlement,  Abraham  and  one  of  his  sons  were  at 
work  in  the  field  when  waylaid  by  an  Indian,  who  fired 
from  ambush,  and  killed  the  father.  Two  elder  sons 
were  chopping  wood  in  the  forest  near  at  hand.  One 
of  them  ran  for  help ;  the  other  turned  to  the  cabin, 
seized  the  ever-ready  rifle,  and,  looking  through  one  of 
the  port-holes,  he  saw  the  Indian  grasp  his  youngest 
brother,  Tom,  then  only  six  years  old,  and  start  with 
him  for  the  woods.  Levelling  the  rifle,  he  shot  the 
Indian ,  and  the  boy,  liberated  by  the  death  of  his 
captor,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  fled  to  the  cabin ;  thus, 
almost  miraculously,  the  father  of  President  Lincoln 
was  saved  from  the  Indians. 

In  the  wilderness  of  Kentucky  there  were  few  gleams 
of  light ;  no  schools,  and  scanty  means  for  acquiring 
even  the  art  of  reading  and  writing ;  and  here,  in  the 
rude  life  of  the  frontier,  in  ignorance  and  poverty, 
the  father  of  President  Lincoln  grew  to  be  a  man.  He 
was  unable  to  read  until  after  his  marriage  ;  but  to  his 
credit  it  should  be  said  that  he  resolved  that  no  child 
of  his  should  ever  be  crippled  as  he  had  been.  He 
married  Nancy  Hanks,  and  took  the  young  bride  to  a 
rude  log  cabin  which  he  had  built  for  himself  near  Nolin 
Creek,  in  what  is  now  Larue  County,  Ky.  In  this 
cabin,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1809,  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  born.  While  he  was  yet  an  infant,  the  family 
removed  to  another  log  cabin  not  far  distant,  and  in 
these  two  Lincoln  spent  the  first  seven  years  of  his  life. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  429 

His  mother  was  a  woman  of  great  force  of  character, 
and  passionately  fond  of  reading.  President  Lincoln 
often  said  of  her,  that  his  earliest  recollections  of  his 
mother  were  of  sitting  at  her  feet,  and  listening  to  the 
tales  and  legends  that  she  read.  She  was  also  a  skilful 
hunter,  and  with  her  rifle  more  than  once  brought 
down  the  bear  and  deer,  while  with  her  hands  she 
dressed  the  flesh  and  prepared  it  for  the  family  table, 
and  wrought  garments  for  the  family  from  the  skins. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  in  his  seventh  year, 
Zachariah  Riney  moved  into  the  neighborhood,  and  the 
lad  was  sent  to  school  to  him.  Riney  was  a  Catholic, 
however,  and  the  Protestant  children  attending  his 
humble  school  were  withdrawn  whenever  any  religious 
exercises  were  held.  A  little  later  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  being  taught  by  Caleb  Hazel  for  three  months. 
Lincoln  was  a  full-grown  lad  when  he  first  saw  a  church  ; 
and  his  first  notion  of  public  speaking  was  taken  from 
the  itinerant  preacher,  Parson  Elkin,  who  now  and 
then  passed  their  way. 

Thomas  Lincoln  being  of  a  somewhat  unsettled 
nature,  like  many  another  pioneer,  thought  that  he 
saw  better  advantages  farther  west ;  and  listening  to 
the  wonderful  tales  of  rich  soil,  abundant  game,  fine 
timber,  and  good  pasturage  in  Indiana,  he  resolved  to 
go  West.  He  found  a  new-comer  who  was  willing 
to  take  his  partly  improved  farm  and  log  cabin  for  ten 
barrels  of  whiskey  and  twenty  dollars  in  cash.  Aided 
by  his  boys  he  built  a  flat-boat,  and  launched  it  upon 
Rolling  Fork,  which  empties  into  the  Ohio,  loaded 
his  ten  barrels  of  whiskey  and  heavier  articles  of  fur- 
niture upon  it,  and  floated  off  down  the  Ohio ;  but 


430  LIVES    OF   THE    PRESIDENTS. 

the  frail  craft  upset,  and  with  what  little  could  be 
saved  from  the  wreck,  Thomas  Lincoln  landed  at 
Thompson's  Ferry,  and  there  found  an  ox-cart  to  trans- 
port him  with  his  slender  stock  of  valuables  to  Spencer 
County,  Ind.,  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  river. 
The  children,  left  at  home  with  their  mother,  attended 
school,  and  snared  game  for  the  family  table.  One 
bed-ticking  filled  with  dried  forest  leaves  sufficed  for 
their  rest  at  night,  and  early  in  the  morning  the  future 
President  was  out  chopping  wood  for  the  day's  fire. 

At  last  the  father  returned,  and  the  long  journey  to 
Indiana  was  undertaken.  At  night  they  slept  on  the 
fragrant  pine-twigs,  and  by  day  they  plodded  on  their 
way  toward  the  Ohio  River.  By  all  sorts  of  expedients 
the  little  family  contrived  to  get  from  one  home  to  the 
other,  where,  on  a  grassy  knoll  in  the  heart  of  the  un- 
trodden forest,  they  fixed  upon  the  site  of  their  future 
dwelling.  A  hunter's  camp  was  all  that  could  be  built 
to  shelter  them  during  their  first  winter.  One  side  was 
entirely  open,  except  as  it  was  screened  with  the  half- 
dressed  skins  of  wild  animals.  Here  the  future  Presi- 
dent spent  his  first  winter  in  the  State  of  Indiana. 

Thorns  were  used  for  pins  in  his  home ;  bits  of  bone 
covered  with  cloth  did  duty  for  buttons  ;  crusts  of  rye- 
bread,  well  burned,  were  substituted  for  coffee;  the 
dried  leaves  of  sundry  native  herbs  took  the  place  of 
tea.  Corn-whiskey  tempered  with  water  was  a  common 
drink  of  the  country,  and  one  £>f  the  readiest  forms  of 
business  currency.  There  were  no  neighbors  to  drop 
in  with  friendly  gossip,  no  boats  to  vex  the  waters  of 
the  western  rivers.  Even  when  one  of  the  settlers 
of  that  region  knew  how  to  write,  it  would  require 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  431 

months  sometimes  for  his  letter  to  reach  the  eastern 
world ;  and  only  as  a  faint  echo  now  and  then  came 
a  whisper  of  politics  and  national  affairs. 

James  Madison  was  the  President  of  ihe  United 
States,  and  the  country  was  greatly  disturbed  over  the 
admission  of  Missouri,  the  extension  of  slavery,  and 
other  matters  of  great  moment ,  but  little  or  none  of 
the  excitement  ever  reached  the  log  cabin.  Through 
the  winter  Abraham  Lincoln  aided  his  father  in  felling 
logs  for  a  more  substantial  cabin ;  and  in  the  spring  all 
the  available  neighbors  were  convened,  the  logs  were 
rolled  out  of  the  woods,  and  one  by  one  fitted  into  their 
places  in  the  shape  of  four  walls.  Gables  were  fixed  in 
position  with  wooden  pins,  and  the  log  cabin  was  com- 
plete. The  floor  was  the  solid  ground,  and  the  cracks 
between  the  logs  were  "  chinked  "  with  thin  strips  of 
wood.  No  wonder  that  little  "  Abe  "  mastered  the  art 
of  splitting  rails,  and  imbibed  a  knowledge  of  woodcraft 
which  clung  to  him  forever. 

During  their  first  year  in  Indiana  the  mother  was 
stricken  down  by  hard  work,  exposure,  and  continual 
anxiety,  and  died  on  the  5th  of  October.  There  were 
no  funeral  ceremonies,  for  there  was  no  one  to  conduct 
them ;  but  long  after,  when  the  spot  where  she  lay  was 
covered  with  the  wreck  of  the  forest  and  almost  hidden, 
her  son  was  wont  to  say,  "  All  that  I  am  or  hope  to  be, 
I  owe  to  my  mother." 

Boys  of  the  present  age,  turning  languidly  over  the 
piles  of  books  at  their  command,  would  wonder  at 
the  little  stock  that  made  Abraham  Lincoln's  heart 
glad  in  those  sad  times.  His  library  consisted  of  the 
Bible,  " ^Esop's  Fables,"  and  "Pilgrim's  Progress."  On 


432  LIVES    OF    THE    PRESIDENTS. 

these  three  his  literary  tastes  were  formed.  He  read 
the  books  till  he  could  repeat  from  memory  many 
chapters  of  the  Bible,  the  most  striking  passages  of 
Bunyan's  &tory,  and  every  one  of  ^Esop's  fables.  Then 
he  secured  a  copy  of  the  lives  and  characters  of  eminent 
men,  and  from  the  day  when  he  first  read  the  biography 
of  the  great  Kentuckian,  Lincoln  dated  his  undying 
admiration  for  Henry  Clay.  Then  he  obtained  Ramsay's 
"Life  of  Washington , "  and  hearing  of  another  "Life 
of  Washington,""  written  by  Weems,  he  made  a  long 
journey  to  borrow  it,  and  joyfully  carried  it  home  in 
the  bosom  of  his  hunting-shirt.  A  storm  at  night 
washed  through  the  chinks  of  the  logs  in  the  cabin,  and 
damaged  the  book,  and  with  a  heavy  heart  he  carried 
it  back  to  Mr.  Crawford,  who  had  loaned  it  to  him. 
He  offered  to  do  any  thing  in  settlement  which  Mr. 
Crawford  thought  fair  and  just,  and  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  Abe  should  "pull  fodder"  for  three  days 
for  Mr.  Crawford. 

"  Does  that  pay  for  the  book,  or  for  the  damage  done 
to  it  ?  "  asked  the  boy,  taking  his  first  lesson  in  worldly 
wisdom.  Mr.  Crawford  "allowed"  that  he  had  con- 
sidered the  book  practically  worthless,  and  that  the 
work  paid  for  it,  so  that  it  became  the  first  book  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  purchased ,  and  discolored  and  blis- 
tered though  it  was,  it  was  to  him  of  incalculable 
value. 

In  the  autumn  of  1819  Thomas  Lincoln  went  off  into 
Kentucky,  leaving  the  children  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves ;  but  in  December  he  returned,  bringing  a  new 
mother  for  them,  and  a  store  of  what  to  the  children  of 
the  wilderness  seemed  a  gorgeous  array  of  housekeeping 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  433 

utensils;  a  table,  chairs,  a  bureau,  crockery,  knives, 
forks,  and  other  incidentals,  which  to-day  are  considered 
the  necessaries  of  life  ;  but  which,  until  then,  the  Lincoln 
family  had  lived  without.  The  new  mother  and  her 
stepson  became  fast  friends  from  the  start,  and  she  said 
of  him  afterward,  "  He  never  gave  me  a  cross  word  or 
look,  and  never  refused  in  fact  or  appearance  to  do  any 
thing  that  I  requested  of  him."  From  this  time,  matters 
began  to  look  brighter  in  the  Lincoln  family.  Neigh- 
bors became  more  abundant,  and  the  school,  with  its 
coveted  facilities  for  obtaining  knowledge,  was  within 
reach. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  an  accident  led  Lincoln 
into  the  vicinity  of  Booneville.  There  hearing  that  one 
of  the  famous  Breckinridges  of  Kentucky  was  to  speak 
for  the  defence  in  a  murder  trial,  he  went  on  to  Boone- 
ville, and  in  dumb  wonder  listened  to  the  first  im- 
portant speech  which  he  had  ever  heard.  Lincoln 
could  not  restrain  himself ;  and  as  the  eminent  lawyer 
passed  out  of  the  court-house,  he  found  himself  inter- 
cepted by  a  tall,  over-grown  youth,  awkward,  horny- 
handed,  and  evidently  of  the  poorer  class,  who  timidly 
held  out  his  hand  to  him.  But  the  aristocratic  Breck- 
inridge  stared  in  surprise  at  the  intrusive  stranger,  and 
hastily  passed  without  further  notice  the  future  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  boy  had  learned  a 
grand  lesson  in  oratory,  however,  and  he  was  as  grateful 
to  Breckinridge  for  it  as  he  would  have  been  had  the 
great  man  been  as  gracious  to  him  then  as  he  was  years 
afterward,  when  he  was  reminded  by  the  President  in 
Washington  of  the  little  incident  in  Boonville.  From 
that  moment  his  enthusiasm  for  speech-making  knew 


434  LIVES    OF    THE    PBESIDENTS. 

no  bounds.  His  father  was  at  last  obliged  to  interfere, 
and  forbid  his  making  speeches  during  work  hours. 
The  old  man  grumbled,  "  When  Abe  begins  to  speak, 
all  hands  stop  work  to  hear  him." 

In  every  possible  sense  of  the  word,  at  twenty  years 
of  age,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  self-made  man.  What 
he  had  learned,  he  had  learned  by  himself;  what  he 
knew,  he  knew  with  absolute  accuracy.  Self-taught, 
self-dependent,  self-reliant. 

In  the  spring  of  1830  the  entire  family  made  another 
move  to  the  West,  across  the  prairies  to  Illinois,  near 
to  the  village  of  Decatur.  The  entire  outfit  consisted 
of  one  wagon,  drawn  by  four  oxen,  and  driven  by 
Abraham  Lincoln.  When  at  last  the  family  were  well 
settled  upon  the  new  ground,  young  Lincoln  determined 
that  it  was  time  for  him  to  strike  out  for  himself.  He 
was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  able  and  anxious  to  earn 
his  own  living.  He  engaged  himself  with  a  party  that 
was  taking  a  flat-boat  loaded  with  produce  down  the 
river  to  New  Orleans.  Thus  he  visited  the  land  of 
slavery,  and  saw  its  peculiar  institutions,  and  thus  he 
formed  his  first  opinions  of  slavery.  He  succeeded  so 
well  with  the  cargo  that  the  owner  employed  him  to 
take  charge  of  a  country  store  at  New  Salem,  111., 
where  he  at  once  established  himself  as  a  great  favorite. 

Up  to  this  time,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  never  held  any 
office  except  that  of  an  occasional  clerk  of  an  election ; 
but  in  the  spring  of  1832  he  found  himself  out  of  busi- 
ness, the  store  at  New  Salem  having  been  closed,  and 
he  resolved  to  become  a  candidate  for  representative  to 
the  Legislature.  He  was  a  pronounced  Whig,  follow- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  his  idol,  Henry  Clay.  Before 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  435 

the  election,  however,  there  was  a  call  for  volunteers  to 
repel  the  hostile  Indians,  and  Lincoln  was  among  the 
first  to  volunteer.  At  the  head  of  a  party  of  Sangamon 
County  men,  he  made  his  way  to  Gen.  Atchinson's  head- 
quarters, where  he  was  appointed  captain  of  a  company. 
The  campaign  was  short  and  decisive.  Mr.  Lincoln 
reached  his  home  again,  with  only  ten  days  remaining 
in  which  to  make  his  canvass  for  the  seat  in  the  Legis- 
lature to  which  he  aspired.  He  received  a  majority  of 
the  votes  in  his  own  precinct,  but  he  lost  the  election. 
Having  now  no  further  occupation,  he  borrowed  every 
book  on  law  that  he  could  find,  and  amused  himself  and 
his  neighbors  by  drawing  up  imaginary  deeds,  wills, 
and  conveyances  ;  and  neighbors  soon  began  applying 
to  him  for  advice  and  assistance  in  selling  and  mort- 
gaging real  estate.  His  fees  were  usually  the  necessities 
of  life,  turned  over  to  the  family  with  whom  he  boarded. 
Soon  he  was  undertaking  small  cases  on  trial  before  the 
justices  of  the  peace.  An  old  judge  said  of  him  that, 
"  When  Lincoln  argued,  he  inevitably  gave  the  impres- 
sion that  he  sincerely  believed  every  word  he  said." 
Surveying,  too,  occupied  his  leisure  moments,  and  maps 
of  land  surveyed  by  Lincoln  still  show  a  neatness  and 
semblance'  of  accuracy  that  testify  to  the  rigid  care  he 
exercised  in  all  his  work. 

In  1833  Lincoln  was  appointed  postmaster  at  New 
Salem.  The  revenues  were  small;  and,  as  the  popular 
saying  ran,  "  Lincoln  carried  the  post-office  in  his  hat." 
He  said  of  himself,  that  he  took  the  office  on  account  of 
the  weekly  papers  coming  through  the  mail,  which  he 
scrupulously  read  before  they  were  called  for. 

In  1844  he  again  became  candidate  for  the  Legisla- 


436  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

ture.  This  time  he  was  elected.  He  was  now  twenty- 
five  years  old.  The  capital  was  then  at  Vandalia. 
Clad  in  a  suit  of  not  especially  elegant  blue'  jeans, 
Lincoln,  with  his  commanding  height,  was  a  marked 
figure  in  the  Legislature.  During  the  first  session,  he 
introduced  few  bills,  but  he  narrowly  observed  what 
other  men  were  doing  iii  this  direction ;  and  while  he 
said  little,  he  took  in  every  thing,  and  thought  a  great 
deal.  The  next  year  he  was  re-elected.  In  his  appeal 
to  his  constituents  he  said,  "  I  go  for  all  sharing  the 
privileges  of  the  Government  who  assist  in  bearing  its 
burdens.  I  go  for  admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of 
suffrage  who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms,  by  no  means 
excluding  females."  At  this  second  session  of  the 
Legislature  he  put  himself  on  record  for  the  first  time 
as  opposed  to  the  farther  extension  of  the  system  of 
American  slavery. 

In  1837  Lincoln  went  to  Springfield,  the  new  capital 
of  the  State,  where  he  established  himself  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  and  there  he  remained  till  his  election 
for  the  presidency.  He  rode  into  town  on  a  borrowed 
horse,  all  his  earthly  possessions  packed  in  a  pair  of 
saddle-bags  fastened  to  the  crupper  of  his  saddle.  He 
wanted  to  hire  a  room,  and  furnish  it  with  the  barest 
necessities,  but  found  that  the  aggregate  cost  of  these 
was  seventeen  dollars.  To  the  storekeeper  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  sadly,  "  It  is  cheap  enough,  but  cheap  as  it  is,  I 
have  not  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  If  you  will  give  me 
credit  until  Christmas,  and  my  experiment  here  is  a 
success,  I  will  pay  you  then.  If  I  fail,  I  shall  probably 
never  be  able  to  pay  you:" 

The  storekeeper,  somewhat   impressed,  replied  that 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  437 

he  had  a  large  double  bed  in  his  own  room,  which 
Lincoln  was  welcome  to  share  with  him  if  he  chose ; 
and  thus  he  settled  in  his  new  quarters  in  the  capital 
of  Illinois.  In  April  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John 
T.  Stuart  of  Springfield,  which  continued  till  1841, 
when  he  associated  himself  with  Stephen  T.  Logan.  In 
1843  the  law  firm  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  William 
H.  Herndon  was  formed,  and  the  co-partnership  was 
not  dissolved  until  the  death  of  Lincoln  in  1865. 

As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Lincoln  proved  the  value  of  those 
qualities  which  had  won  for  him  the  title  of  "honest 
Abe  "  while  he  was  a  storekeeper.  In  1839  there  was 
a  remarkable  debate  in  the  Illinois  Legislature,  in  which 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  John  Calhoun,  Josiah  Lamborn 
and  Jesse  B.  Thomas  were  upon  one  side ;  and  Stephen 
T.  Logan,  Edward  D.  Barker,  Orville  H.  Browning,  and 
Abraham  Lincoln  upon  the  other  side.  During  the 
debate,  one  of  the  speakers  taunted  the  other  side  upon 
the  hopelessness  of  its  case  and  the  fewness  of  its  num- 
bers. In  replying,  Lincoln  said,  "  Address  that  argu- 
ment to  cowards  and  knaves.  It  may  be  true ;  if  it 
must,  let  it.  Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty, 
and  ours  may  lose  hers.  But  if  she  shall,  let  it  be  my 
proudest  plume  not  that  I  was  the  last  to  desert  her, 
but  that  I  never  deserted  her." 

In  1840  the  country  was  deeply  stirred  by  the  presi- 
dential campaign.  Martin  Van  Buren  stood  for  the 
Democrats,  Gen.  William  H.  Harrison  for  the  Whigs. 
Lincoln  was  one  of  the  electors  on  the  Harrison  ticket, 
and  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  canvass,  making 
speeches  and  going  on  long  expeditions  for  the  sake  of 
his  candidate. 


438  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

While  living  in  New  Salem,  he  had  become  tenderly 
attached  to  a  young  lady  of  that  village,  Miss  Ann 
Rutledge,  who  died  before  his  prospects  in  Springfield 
guaranteed  their  marriage.  In  1840  there  came  to 
Springfield  from  Kentucky  a  Miss  Todd,  daughter  of 
Robert  Todd,  who  was  courted  and  flattered  by  all  the 
3'oung  men  in  Springfield,  and  soon  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Abraham  Lincoln,  then  regarded  as  "  a  rising 
man."  To  her  Mr.  Lincoln  became  engaged.  There 
was  a  misunderstanding  between  the  two  at  one  time, 
and  he  offered  to  release  her,  which  offer,  however,  she 
declined;  and  the  couple  were  married  Nov.  4,  1840, 
and  took  lodgings  in  the  Globe  Tavern,  a  modest  board- 
ing-place, not  far  from  the  State  House.  The  cost,  as 
Lincoln  said  afterward,  was  four  dollars  a  week  for 
board  and  lodging.  The  log-cabin  and  hard-cider  cam- 
paign having  terminated  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  satisfaction, 
he  spent  the  first  winter  of  his  married  life  happily  as 
well  as  busily,  finding  time  to  write  and  deliver  a  most 
earnest  temperance  address,  expressive  of  sentiments 
which  he  held  throughout  his  life ;  for  never,  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  could  he  be  persuaded  to  partake  of  spirits 
or  wine. 

Ex-President  Van  Buren,  against  whom  Lincoln  had 
fought  so  vigorously  in  the  campaign,  became  storm- 
bound in  a  little  village  not  far  from  Springfield  ;  and 
several  of  his  friends  in  Springfield  hearing  of  the  fact, 
made  up  a  party,  generously  provided  with  provisions, 
to  go  to  him,  and  persuaded  Mr.  Lincoln  to  accompany 
them.  Of  this  visit,  Mr.  Van  Buren  afterward  said 
that  with  Mr.  Lincoln  he  was  surprised  and  delighted ; 
the  only  drawback  being  that  his  sides  were  sore  for 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  439 

a  week  thereafter,  from  laughing  at  Mr.  Lincoln's 
stories. 

Lincoln  had  long  desired  to  go  to  Congress  ;  but  it  so 
happened  that  all  his  best  friends  were  equally  anxious 
to  go,  and  from  the  same  district.  On  one  occasion, 
having  himself  been  a  candidate  for  nomination,  Lincoln 
was  elected  as  a  delegate  to  the  nominating  convention, 
and  was  instructed  to  vote  for  Baker.  Of  the  predica- 
ment he  good-naturedly  said,  u  I  am  fixed  like  the 
fellow  who  was  made  groomsman  to  the  man  who  cut 
him  out  and  was  marrying  his  girl."  The  greatest 
political  disappointment  of  his  life,  however,  was  when 
his  idol,  Henry  Clay,  was  defeated,  and  James  K.  Polk 
elected  in  1844.  For  once  Lincoln's  political  expecta- 
tions were  overwhelmed. 

In  1846  Lincoln  was  at  last  nominated  for  Congress, 
and  carried  the  election  by  a  most  unusual  majority. 
He  took  his  seat  Dec.  6,  1847.  One  of  his  first  acts  in 
Congress  was  a  masterly  speech  reviewing  the  causes  of 
the  Mexican  war,  and  severely  arraigning  the  Adminis- 
tration for  its  persistance  in  the  matter  of  annexing 
Texas,  and  thus  involving  the  country. 

In  Congress,  Lincoln  was  associated  with  Webster, 
Lewis  Cass,  John  A.  Dix,  J.  C.  Calhoun,  Jefferson 
Davis,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Caleb 
Smith,  John  Palfrey,  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Andrew 
Jackson,  Alexander  H.  Stevens,  Robert  Toombs,  Howell 
Cobb,  and  many  others  famous  in  the  stormy  times 
then  making  ready  in  the  far  distance.  In  this  illus- 
trious company  Lincoln  very  soon  became  recognized 
as  a  man  of  marked  ability. 

Speaking    of    him    long    afterward,    Alexander    H. 


440  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Stevens,  then  Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, said,  "  Lincoln  always  attracted  and  riveted 
the  attention  of  the  House  when  he  spoke.  His  man- 
ner of  speech  as  well  as  thought  was  original.  He  was 
a  man  of  strong  convictions,  and  what  Carlyle  would 
have  called  an  earnest  man.  He  abounded  in  anec- 
dotes ;  he  illustrated  every  thing  he  was  talking  about 
with  an  anecdote,  always  exceedingly  apt  and  pointed, 
and  socially  always  kept  his  company  in  a  roar  of 
laughter." 

Lincoln  was  a  delegate  to  the  Whig  convention  that 
nominated  Gen.  Taylor,  and  as  soon  as  the  Congres- 
sional recess  began,  he  went  at  once  to  New  England 
where  he  took  the  stump  for  his  candidate.  Into  this 
campaign  he  carried  the  same  thoroughness  which  he 
had  always  shown,  and  the  same  ambition  to  utilize 
every  thing  to  the  best  advantage.  In  a  letter  to  his 
law  partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  he  said,  "  Let  every  one 
play  the  part  he  can  play  best.  Some  can  speak,  some 
can  sing,  and  all  can  halloo." 

The  election  of  1848  gave  Gen.  Taylor  a  decided 
majority  :  and  there  was  great  excitement  and  exulta- 
tion manifest  concerning  it,  for  the  satisfaction  felt  all 
over  the  North  that  the  election  of  Taylor  would  some- 
how prevent  the  extension  of  slavery. 

Matters  in  Congress  were  decidedly  changed.  Lin- 
coln and  the  Whigs  were  no  longer  in  the  hopeless 
minority.  It  was  Mr.  Lincoln  who  now  introduced  the 
bill  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  but 
it  excited  a  storm  of  opposition  so  great,  that  it  never 
came  to  a  vote ;  and  when  Congress  adjourned,  Mr. 
Lincoln's  term  of  office  being  out,  he  went  to  his  home 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  441 

in  Illinois  not  to  return  till  he  should  come  as  the  great 
emancipator  of  slavery  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  Republic. 

He  was  ottered  the  position  of  governor  of  the  Terri- 
tory of  Oregon,  but  he  declined  it ;  feeling,  doubtless, 
that  he  had  greater  work  to  do  on  this  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

Robert  Todd,  Mr.  Lincoln's  eldest  son,  was  born  in 
1843 ,  Edward  Baker,  the  second,  was  born  in  1846 ; 
William  Wallace,  the  third,  was  born  in  1850 ;  and 
Thomas,  the  fourth,  in  1853.  Of  these,  Robert,  the 
eldest,  Secretary  of  War  under  Garfield  and  Arthur,  is 
the  sole  survivor  of  the  family. 

After  returning  to  Springfield,  Mr.  Lincoln  again 
devoted  himself  to  his  legal  business,  in  many  ways 
increasing  his  popularity,  and  strengthening  the  reputa- 
tion for  honesty  and  integrity  which  had  gone  with 
him  throughout  his  life.  After  his  death,  Judge  Drum- 
mond  of  Chicago  said  of  him,  "  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  I  ever 
knew.  With  a  voice  by, no  means  pleasant,  without 
any  of  the  graces  of  the  orator,  without  much  in  the 
outward  man  indicating  superiority  of  intellect,  his 
mind  was  so  vigorous,  his  comprehension  so  exact  and 
clear,  his  judgment  so  sure,  that  he  easily  mastered  the 
intricacies  of  his  profession,  and  became  one  of  the 
ablest  reasoners  and  impressive  speakers  at  our  bar. 
He  always  tried  a  case  fairly  and  honestly,  and  never 
intentionally  misrepresented  the  evidence  of  a  witness, 
or  the  argument  of  an  opponent/' 

To  the  end  of  his  life  Mr.  Lincoln  adhered  to  the 
old-fashioned  pronunciation  of  many  familiar  words. 


442  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

"  Chair  "  was  always  "  cheer,"  and  "  legislature,"  "  legis- 
latur." 

In  October,  1854,  the  storm  of  war  over  slavery  broke 
out  again  in  Douglas's  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  The 
entire  North  was  against  him.  He  hastened  to  Illinois, 
confident  that  with  his  crafty  logic  and  audacious  decla- 
mation he  could  convince  the  people  there  that  his  bill 
did  not  contain  the  pernicious  and  destructive  influences 
which  were  credited  to  it ;  but  in  Chicago,  his  constit- 
uents refused  to  hear  him.  The  walls  were  placarded 
with  angry  words,  and  angry  denunciations  were  heaped 
upon  him.  He  went  on  to  Springfield;  the  annual  State 
fair  was  to  be  held  there,  and  he  grasped  the  oppor- 
tunity. It  was  noised  abroad  that  Douglas  was  to 
speak  in  justification  of  his  course,  and  in  defence  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill.  By  common  consent,  all 
eyes  were  turned  to  Lincoln  as  the  man  best  qualified 
to  answer  the  plausible  and  overbearing  senator  from 
Illinois.  Douglas  began  his  defence.  He  was  the 
Democratic  leader  of  the  West,  and  the  acknowledged 
head  of  his  party  jn  the  North  ;  so  much  so,  that 
people  had  even  begun  to  call  themselves  Douglas- 
Democrats.  This  must  be  his  supreme  effort,  or  he 
would  lose  his  hold  in  his  own  State  and  in  his  party. 

On  the  next  day  Lincoln  replied  to  it.  The  sensa- 
tion produced  was  so  convincing,  so  powerful  in  its 
logic,  so  tremendous  in  its  array  of  facts  and  arguments, 
that  it  was  indescribable.  At  last  the  lion  had  been 
roused.  Lincoln  rose  to  the  occasion,  and  spoke  as  he 
never  spoke  before.  The  enthusiasm  of  his  audience 
was  raised  to  a  high  pitch.  The  Springfield  Journal, 
in  reporting  the  speech,  said, 


ABE  AH  AM   LINCOLN.  443 

"  The  crowd  approved  the  glorious  triumph  of  truth 
by  loud  and  long  continued  huzzas.  The  women  waved 
their  handkerchiefs.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  speech, 
every  man  felt  that  it  was  unanswerable ;  that  no 
human  power  could  overthrow  it  or  trample  it  under 
foot;  and  every  mind  present  did  homage  to  the  man 
who  took  captive  the  heart,  and  broke  like  a  sun  over 
the  understanding." 

At  the  close  of  Lincoln's  speech,  Douglas,  excited 
and  angry,  took  the  platform,  and  said  that  he  had  been 
abused,  and  would  continue  his  address  in  the  evening. 
When  evening  came,  however,  Douglas  was  not  there, 
and  the  promised  remarks  were  not  made.  A  few  days 
later  the  two  spoke  at  Peoria,  with  the  same  result. 
At  the  close,  Douglas  said  to  Lincoln,  "  You  have  here 
and  at  Springfield  given  me  more  trouble  than  all  the 
opposition  in  the  Senate  combined." 

In  1856  a  convention  was  held  in  Bloomington, 
111.,  of  men  opposed  to  the  Kansas-Nebraska  measure. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  summoned  to  the  mass-meeting  and 
said,  "In  building  our  new  party,  let  us  make  the 
corner-stone  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Let  us 
build  on  this  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  us !  "  Of  Mr.  Lincoln's  address  to  the 
convention,  all  that  remains  is  the  report  of  those  who 
heard  it.  One  who  was  present  says,  "Never  was  an 
audience  so  completely  electrified  by  human  eloquence. 
Again  and  again  they  sprang  to  their  feet  and  upon  the 
benches."  Similar  proceedings  took  place  in  other 
States ;  and  thus  the  Republican  party  was  born  to  meet 
in  its  first  National  convention  in  Philadelphia,  June 
17,  1856,  when  Fremont  was  nominated  for  President 
and  Dayton  of  New  Jersey  for  Vice-President. 


444  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

The  Democratic  convention  nominated  James 
Buchanan  of  Pennsylvania  for  President,  and  John  C. 
Breckinridge  of  Kentucky  for  Vice-President.  Again 
Lincoln  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign.  In  the 
election,  James  Buchanan  received  the  majority  of  votes, 
but  the  fight  between  freedom  and  slavery  still  went 
on ;  and  in  1858  Lincoln  and  Douglas  were  again  pitted 
against  each  other.  Douglas's  senatorial  term  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  and  the  Republicans  of  Illinois  nominated 
Mr.  Lincoln  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  Democrats  of  the 
State  nominated  Mr.  Douglas  to  succeed  himself.  Lin- 
coln realized  that  this  was  to  be  a  mighty  struggle. 
None  better  than  he,  knew  how  tender  the  people  of 
Illinois  yet  were  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  how 
afraid  they  were  of  the  epithet  of  "  abolitionist."  When 
the  memorable  debate  began,  Lincoln  and  Douglas  were 
in  full  maturity  of  their  physical  and  intellectual  powers. 
Douglas  was  forty-five,  Lincoln  was  forty-nine.  Douglas 
was  small  of  stature,  with  long  and  grizzly  hair,  and 
called  by  his  admirers  the  "  little  giant  of  Illinois." 
Lincoln  was  almost  herculean  in  build.  His  head  was 
massive,  poised  on  a  long  neck,  with  stiff  and  obstinate 
hair,  that  usually  stood  up  in  irregular  waves. 

Two  important  topics  were  before  the  country  for 
these  two  men  to  discuss,  —  the  Dred  Scott  decision  and 
the  struggle  in  Kansas.  In  Douglas's  speech  he  had  inti- 
mated that  Lincoln  was  in  favor  of  a  complete  equality 
of  the  white  and  black  races,  which  sentiment,  in  those 
days,  was  sufficient  to  draw  upon  any  one  a  rousing 
mob,  even  from  among  his  own  constituency.  In  his 
reply,  Lincoln  said,  "  I  protest,  now  and  forever, 
against  that  counterfeit  logic  which  presumes  that, 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  445 

because  I  do  not  want  a  negro  woman  for  a  slave,  I  do 
necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife.  My  understanding  is, 
that  I  need  not  have  her  for  either ;  but,  as  God  has 
made  us  separate,  we  can  leave  one  another  alone,  and 
do  each  much  good  thereby." 

Lincoln  tried  to  persuade  the  "  little  giant "  to  a 
joint  canvass  of  the  State,  to  which  Douglas  objected 
at  first,  but  at  last  consented  to  a  joint  debate  at  seven 
different  points.  In  this  debate,  Lincoln  travelled  in 
an  unostentatious  and  inexpensive  manner.  Douglas 
moved  from  point  to  point  on  a  special  train,  accom- 
panied by  a  brass  band  and  cannon.  Everybody  felt 
that,  to  use  a  common  expression  of  the  country,  Lin- 
coln was  getting  the  best  of  Douglas;  and  by  his 
manner,  Douglas  sometimes  showed  that  he  thought 
so  too.  In  Charlestown,  111.,  for  instance,  during 
Lincoln's  speech,  Douglas  left  his  seat,  and,  watch  in 
hand,  paced  up  and  down  the  rear  of  the  platform, 
behind  the  speaker,  greatly  agitated,  with  his  long, 
grizzly  hair  waving  behind  him  ;  and  the  instant  that 
the  hands  of  his  watch  marked  the  moment  for  Lincoln 
to  stop,  he  turned  the  timepiece  toward  the  speaker, 
and  eagerly  cried,  "  Sit  down,  Lincoln,  sit  down  ;  your 
time  is  up."  Turning  a  good-natured  face  toward 
Douglas,  Lincoln  calmly  replied,  "  I  will,  I  will  quit ; 
I  believe  my  time  is  up."  A  deep  voice  from  some  one 
at  no  great  distance  added,  "  Yes,  Douglas  has  had 
enough.  It  is  time  you  let  up  on  him." 

As  the  result  of  several  peculiar  conditions,  the  Legis- 
lative vote  was  cast  for  Douglas ;  though  the  popular 
vote  was  126,000  for  Lincoln,  and  121,000  for  Douglas. 
Lincoln  had  won  a  great  moral  victory,  and  had  made  for 


446  LIVES    OF    THE    PRESIDENTS. 

himself  a  name  that  must  endure.  When  asked  by  a 
friend  how  he  felt  when  his  defeat  was  assured  by  the 
returns  of  the  election,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  that  he  felt 
"  like  a  boy  who  had  stubbed  his  toe  ;  too  badly  to 
laugh,  but  was  too  big  to  cry."  Nothing,  however, 
could  have  given  him  wider  fame  than  the  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debate. 

A  little  later  Mr.  Lincoln  was  invited  to  the  East. 
He  spoke  in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  Feb.  1,  1860, 
upon  "The  unbroken  record  of  the  founders  of  the 
Republic,  in  favor  of  the  restriction  of  slavery."  That 
speech  fastened  the  favor  in  which  he  was  already  held 
by  thinking  men,  and  did  much  toward  the  compromise 
made  in  the  Chicago  convention  a  short  time  after- 
ward. The  entire  country  was  in  a  ferment.  The 
solid  South  was  steadily  encroaching,  and  there  was 
no  solid  North.  Angry  antagonisms  were  engendered, 
and  every  prospect  was,  that  the  National  conventions  in 
1860  would  be  turbulent.  The  first  convention  was  held 
at  Charleston,  S.C.  Caleb  Gushing  and  Benjamin  F. 
Butler  were  conspicuous  there.  On  the  fifty-seventh 
ballot,  Douglas  was  nominated  for  President,  and  Her- 
schel  Johnson  of  Georgia,  for  Vice-President.  On 
May  16,  the  Republican  convention  assembled  in 
Chicago.  Candidates  were  many.  William  H.  Seward, 
Simon  Cameron,  S.  P.  Chase,  Edward  Bates,  William 
M.  Dayton,  were  all  pushed  forward  by  their  favorites. 
Horace  Greeley's  opposition  to  Mr.  Seward  precluded 
his  going  as  a  delegate  from  New  York,  but  he  secured 
an  opportunity  to  act  as  delegate  from  Oregon.  In 
spite  of  Mr.  Greeley's  opposition,  however,  Mr. 
Seward's  chances  were  placed  at  ten  to  one  against 
the  field. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  447 

With  considerable  temper,  dissatisfaction,  and  discon- 
tent, the  convention  began  its  work.  The  Seward  men 
were  confident  of  success,  but  the  convention's  action 
must  be  the  hinge  on  which  the  history  of  the  country 
should  turn.  The  hall  was  packed  to  the  verge  of 
suffocation.  Leading  men  from  North  and  South,  from 
East  and  West,  were  there ;  all  with  their  individual 
preferences.  When  nominations  were  in  order,  Seward, 
Cameron,  Chase,  Bates,  Dayton,  McLane,  and  Colla- 
more  were  introduced.  The  moment  had  almost  arrived 
for  ballotting,  when  Uncle  Jesse  Harper  of  Illinois,  a 
tall,  gaunt  figure  clad  in  rusty  black,  rose,  and  put  in 
nomination  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  rail-splitter.  It  may 
safely  be  said  that  to  the  astonishment  of  every  dele- 
gate, the  first  ballot  stood  William  H.  Seward,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  and  a  half ,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, one  hundred  and  two  ;  with  the  others  fifty  or 
below.  On  the  third  ballot,  Lincoln  received  two 
hundred  and  thirty-one  and  a  half  votes,  and  shortly 
afterward  his  nomination  was  assured.  William  M. 
Evarts  made  the  motion  that  the  nomination  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  be  made  unanimous;  this  was  seconded  by  John 
A.  Andrew  of  Massachusetts.  The  ticket  was  com- 
pleted by  the  nomination  of  Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin  of 
.Maine.  There  were  four  tickets  in  the  field.  Douglas 
at  the  head  of  one  ;  Breckinridge,  another ;  John  Bell,  a 
third ;  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  fourth. 

A  more  exciting  campaign  was  never  known.  Fami- 
lies, even,  were  separated  by  sentiment ;  friendships 
were  broken  ,  social  relations  were  severed  ;  trade, 
commerce,  and  the  industries  of  the  entire  country 
seemed  to  be  paralyzed.  If  Lincoln  were  to  be  elected, 


448  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

every  one  foresaw  that  the  Union  would  be  broken. 
Never  was  there  a  more  bitter  contest  than  that  waged 
by  the  several  parties  seeking  the  election  of  their  can- 
didates. 

Thus  Lincoln  stood  for  the  verdict  not  of  his  own  town, 
county,  or  _State  Legislature,  but  of  his  country.  The 
nation  is  familiar  with  him  to-day,  but  only  those  who 
knew  him  best  really  knew  him  at  all.  Thousands  of 
men,  even  then,  were  familiar  with  "  Abe,"  but  no  man 
was  ever  intentionally  rude  a  second  time  to  Abraham 
Lincoln.  He  was  gentleness  and  courtesy  personified. 
He  was  a  natural  born  man ;  strong  in  will  and  purpose, 
tenacious  of  opinions,  courteous  to  opponents. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  gave  Mr.  Lincoln  180 
electoral  votes ;  the  remaining  123  were  divided  be- 
tween his  three  opponents.  A  Republican  President 
had  been  elected  to  face  a  large  majority  against  him 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  a  strong  opposition  in 
the  Supreme  Court  and  in  the  Senate,  with  a  task 
before  him  such  as  no  mortal  man  had  ever  had  before, 
and  none  since  his  day. 

Between  the  6th  of  November,  1860,  and  the  4th  of 
March,  1861,  when  Lincoln  was  at  last  inaugurated, 
were  months  pregnant  with  trouble,  with  national  dis- 
turbance, with  lack  of  confidence,  and  conflicting  politi- 
cal ideas.  Party  feeling  ran  high  throughout  the  nation. 
Toward  one  man  all  eyes  were  looking.  Abraham 
Lincoln  in  his  quiet  Illinois  home  was  the  hinge  upon 
which  the  mighty  events  were  turning.  What  would 
he  do  ?  He  had  not  uttered  one  word  concerning  the 
condition  of  affairs  since  the  day  of  his  election.  The 
one  man  to  whom  all  turned  was  silent. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  449 

In  February  he  left  for  Washington,  as  it  was  deemed 
expedient  that  he  should  be  there  some  time  before 
inauguration.  Thousands  gathered  at  the  station  in 
Springfield,  but  his  parting  words  had  nothing  of  poli- 
tics. They  were,  "  A  duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is 
greater,  perhaps,  than  that  which  has  devolved  upon 
any  other  man  since  the  days  of  Washington.  He 
would  not  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine 
Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.  Feeling 
that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid 
which  sustained  him,  in  the  same  Almighty  Being  I 
place  my  reliance  for  support."  The  progress  to  Wash- 
ington was  eventful,  and  might  easily  have  been  made 
one  of  the  utmost  excitement ;  but  it  would  be  difficult 
to  conceive  of  a  more  considerate  course,  and  one  more 
conciliatory  than  that  pursued  by  Mr.  Lincoln  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end.  A  great-hearted,  honest-minded, 
clear-eyed  man,  taken  by  the  strong  hand  of  popular 
will  from  the  calm  quiet  of  his  Western  circuit,  and 
placed  at  the  helm  of  the  country,  a  target  for  every 
eye,  for  every  tongue,  and  possibly  for  every  bullet, 
—  such  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  as  he  waited  for  the  4th 
of  March.  The  Government  at  this  fearful  crisis  was 
to  be  turned  over  to  Republican  administrators  by  the 
Democratic  hands  which  had  controlled  it  so  long. 
Hours  before  the  time  for  the  inauguration  ceremonies, 
scores  of  thousands  of  anxious  men  were  massed  in 
front  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  the  Senate 
chamber  Hannibal  Hamlin  took  the  oath  of  office  of 
Vice-President,  and  assumed  his  chair  as  presiding 
officer  of  the  Senate,  administering  the  oath  to  the 
newly  elected  senators,  then  superintending  the  forming 


450  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

of  the  procession  to  the  platform  where  the  presidential 
inauguration  was  to  be  held.  The  oath  of  office  being 
administered  by  the  venerable  chief  justice,  Robert  B. 
Taney,  President  Lincoln  stepped  to  the  front. 

Horace  Greeley  said  of  the  inaugural  address,  "  I  sat 
just  behind  Lincoln  when  he  read  it,  on  a  bright,  warm, 
still  March  day,  expecting  to  hear  the  delivery  arrested 
by  the  crack  of  a  rifle  aimed  at  his  heart ;  but  it  pleased 
God  to  postpone  the  deed,  though  there  was  forty  times 
the  opportunity  to  shoot  him  in  '61  that  there  was  in 
'65,  and  at  least  forty  times  as  many  intent  on  killing 
or  having  him  killed." 

The  address  produced  a  profound  impression.  Its 
affectionate  interest  and  peaceful  tendency  affected  the 
Northern  public,  but  not  the  South.  He  treated  all 
the  secession  acts  as  a  farce.  His  manner,  always 
earnest,  and  suggestive  of  absolute  honesty,  was  never 
more  earnest,  never  more  suggestive ;  and  the  cheers 
of  fifty  thousand  listeners  rose  and  echoed,  pregnant 
and  significant,  at  the  close. 

The  die  was  cast ;  and  accompanied  by  Mr.  Buchanan, 
the  President  entered  the  carriage,  and  drove  to  the 
White  House. 

Two  great  troubles  faced  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  outset, 
—  office-seekers  and  the  impending  war.  He  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  have  one  or  two  Southern  men  of 
prominence  in  his  cabinet,  and  not  to  disturb  any  per- 
sons then  in  office  who  had  proved  themselves  honest 
and  competent  servants ;  a  line  of  policy  which  irritated 
many  of  his  friends,  it  being  so  contrary  to  the  practice 
of  the  time.  His  first  duty  was  the  formation  of  a 
cabinet.  William  H.  Seward  was  chosen  Secretary  of 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  451 

State ;  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War ;  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Gideon  Welles,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy ;  Montgomery  Blair,  Postmaster- 
General;  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Interior; 
Edward  Bates,  Attorney-General.  They  represented 
a  great  variety  of  political  sentiment  and  opinion,  and 
did  not  always  agree.  Mr.  Lincoln  sometimes  face- 
tiously referred  to  his  cabinet  as  "  The  Happy  Family." 

Two  commissioners  appeared  at  the  White  House 
shortly  after  the  President  was  installed,  as  emissaries 
from  the  seceded  States.  Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  see 
them  ;  but  with  a  certain  grim  humor,  he  sent  them  a 
copy  of  his  inaugural  address.  Then  the  first  gun  was 
fired  upon  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  threatened  war  be- 
came a  reality.  Up  to  that  moment  there  had  been 
many  loyal  persons  who  were  doubtful  as  to  the  right 
of  the  national  Government  to  coerce  a  State,  but  in 
an  instant  all  this  was  swept  away.  The  flag  of  the 
Union  had  been  insulted,  and  the  universal  cry  was  for 
revenge.  On  the  second  day  after  this  first  shot,  Lin- 
coln issued  his  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  troops, 
and  both  Houses  of  Congress  were  summoned  to  meet 
at  the  national  capital,  July  4,  1861. 

The  governor  of  Delaware  responded  very  doubtfully 
to  this  call  for  troops.  The  governor  of  Maryland 
seconded  the  call  for  soldiers  only  to  serve  within  the 
limits  of  the  State.  The  governor  of  Virginia  de- 
nounced the  call  and  the  President  altogether,  and 
defied  the  Administration  in  bitter  terms ;  the  governor 
of  North  Carolina  replied  in  a  similar  vein.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Kentucky  made  answer  that  that  State  would 
furnish  no  troops ;  so  did  the  governors  of  Tennessee 


452  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

and  Arkansas.  The  governor  of  Missouri  replied, 
"  Your  requisition  is  illegal,  unconstitutional,  revolu- 
tionary, inhuman,  diabolical,  and  cannot  be  complied 
with."  Massachusetts  was  the  first  State  to  respond, 
with  four  regiments,  within  forty-eight  hours  after  the 
proclamation  had  been  received.  Governor  Sprage  of 
Rhode  Island  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  thousand 
infantry  and  a  battalion  of  artillery,  and  marched  to 
Washington.  A  Pennsylvania  regiment  was  the  first 
to  reach  the  national  capital.  In  the  North-west,  where 
Lincoln  was  idolized,  the  rush  to  arms  was  wonderful. 
Ohio's  quota  was  thirteen  thousand  men ;  but  within 
a  week  after  the  call  was  issued  seventy-one  thousand 
had  offered  their  services.  Lincoln  called  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  men ;  and  in  response  five  hundred  thou- 
sand sprang  to  arms,  notwithstanding  the  vindictive 
messages  which  he  had  received  from  several  of  the 
governors. 

The  attack  upon  the  "  Sixth  Massachusetts,"  in  pass- 
ing through  Baltimore,  added  to  the  indignation  at  the 
North ;  and  the  President  found  his  arms  strengthened 
by  constantly  increasing  approbation.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  too,  proved  one  of  his  warmest,  most  enthu- 
siastic, and  devoted  friends  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  3d  of  June  following  the  inauguration. 

Thus  Mr.  Lincoln,  alternately  upheld  and  denounced, 
perplexed,  burdened' with  doubt  and  uncertainty,  beset 
with  multitudinous  counsel  differing  and  opposing, 
found  himself  without  any  consistent,  sustaining  hand, 
when  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  was  fought,  and  the 
Southern  army  fled  in  precipitate  confusion  toward 
Richmond,  believing  itself  upon  the  eve  of  annihilation, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  453 

and  the  Northern  army  ran  furiously  back  to  Washing- 
ton, every  moment  anticipating  overwhelming  destruc- 
tion. Nothing  was  gained  by  it  but  the  knowledge 
that  neither  the  North  nor  the  South  was  prepared. 
After  that,  however,  the  war  began  in  earnest. 

Complications  with  foreign  powers  arose.  The  British 
Government  was  guilty  of  many  unfriendly  acts,  if  noth- 
ing more.  The  national  capital  was  filled  with  plun- 
derers, fortunes  were  made  in  a  day,  imperial  revenues 
were  poured  into  the  laps  of  favored  contractors.  Gen- 
erals not  in  political  favor  were  hampered  and  crippled; 
but  of  the  dire  necessities  of  the  times,  many  inventions 
were  born  which  resulted  favorably.  Out  of  the  com- 
plications grew  the  greater  desires,  aims,  and  ambitions 
of  the  war,  till  on  Jan.  1,  1863,  the  first  causes  and 
motives  wholly  forgotten  in  the  later  details,  President 
Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  of  emancipation,  ordering 
and  declaring  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  should 
thenceforward  be  free ;  and  pledging  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  with  all  its  military  and  naval 
power,  to  a  recognition  and  maintenance  of  the  freedom 
of  the  emancipated  people.  On  the  8th  of  June,  1864, 
President  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  his  second  term 
by  the  Republicans,  and  Gen.  MacClellan  by  the 
Democrats. 

For  a  time  the  slow  manoauvres  and  halting  delays 
of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  had  not  only  kept  the 
President  in  a  state  of  constant  anxiety,  but  plunged 
every  loyal  element  of  the  country  into  the  deepest 
gloom,  both  in  the  front  and  in  the  homes.  All  in  vain 
had  the  President  endeavored  to  force  action.  One 
disaster  had  followed  another,  but  the  turning-point 


454  LIVES   OP  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

had  come  in  1863.  The  wave  of  tumultuous  joy  had 
swept  over  the  North  when  Vicksburg  fell.  Lincoln's 
action  in  promoting  and  supporting  Grant,  though  de- 
rided and  scoffed  at  the  start,  —  as  he  was  for  almost 
every  action  throughout  the  first  four  years,  —  proved 
its  wisdom  in  the  end.  The  army  of  the  Potomac  had 
covered  itself  with  glory  at  Gettysburg ;  Gen.  Sherman 
and  Gen.  Sheridan,  too,  had  come  to  the  front.  The 
disturbed  politicians  in  the  Republican  party,  who  had 
fought  against  the  re-nomination  of  President  Lincoln, 
had  been  quieted  and  overcome.  The  campaign  and 
subsequent  election  gave  him  the  justification  of  his 
country.  The  overwhelming  majority  by  which  he 
was  re-elected  was  a  substantial  guarantee  and  indorse- 
ment ;  but,  though  the  dark  clouds  were  lifting,  and  the 
night  was  far  spent,  the  heavy  weight  of  responsibility 
resting  on  the  President's  shoulders  was  hardly  light- 
ened. Enemies  were  still  ready  at  every  moment  to 
attack  his  words  and  actions. 

With  Secretary  Seward  he  went  to  Fortress  Monroe  to 
meet  with  Rebel  commissioners,  and  consult  concerning 
terms  of  peace ;  but  foreseeing  that  the  sole  purpose 
of  the  conference  was  to  secure  an  armistice  under 
some  pretence,  during  which  renewed  preparations  for 
war  could  be  made,  the  President  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
all  suggestions  that  there  should  be  a  cessation  of  all 
hostilities,  explicitly  declaring  that  there  could  be  no 
receding  from  the  position  taken  by  the  Government  on 
the  slavery  question ;  but  that  he  was  ready  to  con- 
cede every  thing  that  was  possible.  The  conference 
amounted  to  nothing,  and  hostile  critics  and  unfriendly 
politicians  at  home  were  as  ready  as  ever  to  impugn  the 
President. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  455 

Simplicity  was  the  main  characteristic  of  life  at  the 
White  House.  Lincoln's  nature  was  averse  to  display. 
No  man  was  ever  more  free  from  affectation,  yet  he  was 
not  without  a  dignity  of  bearing  and  character  that 
commanded  respect ;  and  notwithstanding  his  inimita- 
ble good  nature,  it  was  not  impossible  for  him  to  rebuke 
those  who  presumed  too  far  upon  it.  A  deputation  of 
citizens  from  a  distant  State  waited  upon  him  to  remon- 
strate against  certain  appointments.  Their  objections 
were  committed  to  writing,  and  read  by  the  spokes- 
man. The  paper  contained  implied  reflections  upon 
Senator  Baker,  then  a  guest  at  the  White  House. 
Lincoln  listened  silently  to  the  reading  of  the  docu- 
ment; then,  taking  the  paper,  he  said,  "Is  this  mine  to 
do  with  as  I  please  ?  "  "  Certainly,  Mr.  President," 
replied  the  spokesman.  The  President  calmly  turned 
to  the  fireplace,  and  laid  the  document  on  the  blazing 
coals,  saying, "Good-morning,  gentlemen."  Afterward, 
speaking  of  the  anger  that  the  delegation  manifested 
when  they  went  out  of  the  chamber,  Lincoln  said,  "  The 
paper  was  an  unjust  attack  upon  my  dearest  personal 
friend,  Ned  Baker.  They  told  me  it  was  mine  to  do 
with  as  I  liked,  and  I  could  no4  trust  myself  to  reply  in 
words,  I  was  so  angry." 

During  his  life  at  the  White  House,  President  Lin- 
coln enjoyed  little  recreation  and  few  amusements. 
The  times  were  full  of  trouble,  and  he  had  little  to  do 
with  social  or  formal  entertainments.  His  only  mental 
relief  was  found  at  the  theatre,  where  he  often  went, 
accompanied  with  a  single  friend.  He  was  naturally 
fond  of  music,  and  it  seemed  the  greatest  pleasure  of 
his  simple,  almost  pathetic,  life.  He  cared  little  for  the 


456  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

pleasures  of  the  table,  and  seldom  partook  of  any  but 
the  plainest  food.  Wine  was  set  upon  the  table  when 
those  who  used  it  were  guests,  but  it  was  never  used 
by  the  President.  So  engrossed  was  he  with  the  cares 
of  his  office,  that  many  a  time  his  anxious  wife  sent  to 
the  cabinet  chamber  a  tray  of  food  when  he  had  for- 
gotten his  meal,  and  then  he  was  often  too  busy  or 
absent-minded  to  touch  it. 

His  greatest  delight  in  life  was  with  his  children. 
His  second  son,  Willie,  died  in  February,  1862,  during 
the  darkest  and  most  gloomy  time  of  the  long  and 
oppressive  era  of  the  war.  Possibly  this  calamity  made 
Lincoln  less  strict  with  his  youngest  boy.  At  all  events, 
he  found  it  well-nigh  impossible  to  deny  him  any  thing ; 
but  the  little  fellow,  always  happy  and  lovable,  never 
abused  his  privileges.  He  roamed  the  White  House  at 
will,  as  well  known  to  habitual  visitors  as  the  President 
himself,  and  passionately  devoted  to  his  father.  He 
invaded  the  cabinet  councils  with  his  boyish  griefs,  and 
climbed  to  his  father's  knee  when  the  President  was 
engaged  upon  the  affairs  of  state. 

The  President  and  his  wife  addressed  each  other  in 
the  old-fashioned  style* of  "father"  and  "mother." 
Mrs.  Lincoln  rarely  spoke  of  her  husband  as  the  Presi- 
dent ;  and  if  he  had  occasion  to  refer  to  his  high  office, 
Mr.  Lincoln  invariably  spoke  of  it  as  "this  place." 
One  soon  forgot,  in  his  immediate  presence,  however, 
the  native  ungainliness  of  his  figure,  and  felt  that  he 
was  in  the  personal  atmosphere  of  one  of  the  world's 
great  men. 

The  summers  were  spent  upon  the  reservation  in  the 
suburbs  of  Washington  known  as  the  Soldier's  Home. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  457 

No  warning  of  suspected  attempts  upon  his  life  seemed 
to  disturb  the  President  in  the  least.  Once  he  said  to 
a  friend,  somewhat  seriously,  "  I  long  ago  made  up  my 
mind  that  if  anybody  wants  to  kill  me,  he  will  do  it. 
If  I  wore  a  shirt  of  mail,  and  kept  myself  surrounded 
by  a  body-guard,  it  would  be  all  the  same.  There  are 
a  thousand  ways  of  getting  at  a  man  if  it  is  desirable 
that  lie  should  be  killed ;  besides,  in  this  case,  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  man  who  would  come  after  me  would  be 
just  as  objectionable  to  my  enemies,  if  I  have  any."  At 
that  time  Hannibal  Hamlin  was  Vice-President. 

A  volume  might  be  made  up  of  anecdotes  of  Lincoln's 
kindness  of  heart.  He  was  readily  accessible  to  peti- 
tioners of  every  grade  and  rank  in  life,  but  until  the 
spring  of  1865  he  received  little  of  the  charity  which 
he  gave. 

On  the  2d  of  April  the  tolling  bells  of  Richmond 
sounded  the  knell  of  the  Rebellion,  and  on  the  third 
the  Union  flag  was  hoisted  over  the  building  that  had 
been  occupied  by  the  Rebel  Congress.  Accompanied 
by  his  little  son,  the  President  entered  the  fallen  city 
unattended,  save  by  a  boat's  crew,  and  leading  his 
little  boy  by  the  hand.  It  was  characteristic,  if  not 
triumphant.  He  walked  as  one  in  a  dream.  Rich- 
mond, so  long  and  so  painfully  the  object  of  Union 
hopes  and  desires,  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  United 
States;  the  members  of  the  exploded  government  were 
fugitives.  Thousands  of  colored  people  gathered  about 
their  liberator.  They  shouted,  they  rent  the  air  with 
their  frenzied  cries ;  but  in  that  supreme  moment 
Lincoln  was  speechless.  The  statesman,  reared  by 
God's  wonderful  providence,  disciplined  in  the  rough 


458  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

school  of  adversity,  stood  in  the  stronghold  of  the 
broken  slave  power,  his  life-work  completed. 

The  North  was  delirious  with  joy.  The  national 
capital  was  in  a  tumult  of  excitement  and  triumph. 
Flags  were  spread  in  the  remotest  villages  and  hamlets, 
guns  were  fired,  bands  and  processions  were  every- 
where ;  not  so  much  for  victory  over  a  fallen  foe,  as 
for  relief  and  release  from  the  pernicious  war.  "The 
government  clerks  assembled  in  the  great  rotunda  of 
the  treasury  building,  and  sang  "  Praise  God  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow."  The  war  was  over ;  and  at 
last  every  heart  swelled  with  love  and  blessing  at  the 
name  of  Lincoln,  shouting  all  manner  of  joyous  greetings 
to  the  second  "Father  of  his  Country." 

Thus,  in  the  midst  of  these  tremendous  rejoicings, 
came  the  fourteenth  day  of  April,  1865.  At  noon  was 
held  a  cabinet  meeting,  at  which  Gen.  Grant  was 
present.  In  the  evening,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  a  daughter 
of  Senator  Harris,  and  Major  Rathbone,  the  President 
sat  in  a  box  near  the  stage,  in  the  upper  tier,  enjoying 
his  accustomed  recreation  at  the  theatre,  when  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  an  actor,  who  had  no  personal  grievance 
of  which  to  complain,  passed  unnoticed  into  the  rear  of 
the  box,  held  a  pistol  within  a  few  inches  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's head,  near  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  fired.  The 
President  fell  forward  insensible.  Major  Rathbone 
attempted  to  seize  the  assassin,  who  stabbed  him  in  the 
arm,  jumped  from  the  box  to  the  stage,  there  brandished 
his  knife,  crying,  "Sic  semper  tyrannus"  the  motto  of 
Virginia ;  and  adding,  "  the  South  is  avenged,"  van- 
ished. 

The  insensible  form  of  the  President  was  carried  to  a 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  459 

private  residence  across  the  street.  No  human  skill 
could  save  the  precious  life.  He  uttered  no  word,  and 
gave  no  sign  of  consciousness  of  what  was  taking  place; 
and  at  twenty-two  minutes  past  seven,  on  the  morning 
of  April  15,  the  great  heart  ceased  to  beat.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  dead.  The  body  was  carried  to  the  White 
House,  followed  by  a  little  procession  of  weeping  but 
stern-faced  men.  Flags  that  had  been  flung  in  triumph 
were  lowered  to  half-mast  in  sorrow.  For  days  business 
was  practically  suspended,  and  the  nation  that  had  been 
so  jubilant  seemed  abandoned  to  its  mighty  grief. 

On  Wednesday,  April  19,  the  funeral  of  the  dead 
President  took  place  from  the  mansion  in  which  he  had 
suffered  and  toiled  for  the  people,  and  his  form  was 
borne  to  the  Capitol.  In  the  rotunda  it  lay  in  state  for  a 
day,  guarded  by  a  company  of  high  officers  of  the  army 
and  navy.  Later,  the  President's  body  was  buried  in 
Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  near  Springfield,  111.  The  funeral 
train  left  Washington  on  the  21st  of  April,  traversing 
nearly  the  same  route  that  had  been  passed  over  by  the 
train  which  bore  the  President-elect  from  Springfield  to 
Washington  five  years  before.  Nearly  two  thousand 
miles  were  traversed.  People  lined  the  entire  distance 
almost  without  an  interval,  standing  with  uncovered 
heads,  mute  with  grief,  as  the  sombre  cortege  swept  by ; 
even  the  night  and  the  falling  showers  did  not  keep 
them  away  from  the  line  of  the  sad  procession.  Watch- 
fires  blazed  along  the  route  in  darkness ;  and  in  some 
of  the  large  cities  the  coffin  of  the  illustrious  dead  was 
lifted  from  the  funeral  train,  and  carried  about  by  a 
mighty  procession  of  citizens,  till  at  last  the  body  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  laid  at  rest  near  his  old  home, 


460  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

and  a  noble  monument  was  raised  by  loving  hands  to 
mark  the  spot. 

He  began  life  in  poverty  and  obscurity  in  the  wilder- 
ness, to  end  it  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  white  light  that 
beats  upon  a  form  most  conspicuous  in  the  world's 
fame. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

THE  man  suddenly  called  upon  to  fill  the  office  of 
chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States,  in  the  fearful  and 
overwhelming  grief  which  bore  the  nation  to  the  earth, 
in  the  sudden  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  a  peculiar 
combination,  —  a  man  whom  few  understood,  doubtless 
because  he  thoroughly  failed  to  understand  himself. 
The  early  life  of  Andrew  Johnson  is  but  a  record  of 
poverty,  destitution,  and  friendlessness.  He  was  born  on 
the  twenty-ninth  day  of  December,  1808,  in  Raleigh, 
the  capital  of  North  Carolina.  His  parents,  belonging  to 
that  class  called  the  "  poor  whites  "  of  the  South,  were 
in  such  circumstances. as  to  be  entirely  unable  to  offer 
him  the  slightest  advantages  of  education.  When  the 
lad  was  five  years  of  age,  his  father  was  drowned ;  and 
until  he  was  ten  years  old,  Andrew  Johnson  was  a 
ragged  boy  about  the  streets,  never  having  attended 
school,  and  being  unable  to  read  or  write.  He  was 
apprenticed  then  to  a  tailor.  A  benevolent  gentleman 
of  Raleigh  was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  the  shop,  and 
reading  to  the  boys  at  their  work,  often  choosing  the 
speeches  of  distinguished  statesmen,  which  aroused  in 
Andrew  Johnson  an  ambition  to  learn  to  read  for 


461 


462  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

himself.  This  he  accomplished,  while  working  ten  or 
twelve  hours  a  day  in  the  shop,  by  robbing  himself  of 
rest  and  recreation  in  order  to  study.  When  sixteen 
years  of  age,  having  finished  his  apprenticeship,  lie  was 
still  unable  to  read  with  fluency. 

In  1826  he  went  with  his  mother  to  Greenville,  East 
Tennessee,  where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  tailor,  and 
married  a  young  woman  of  estimable  character,  so  much 
in  advance  of  him  in  education,  that  she  became  his 
teacher  in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  She  read 
to  him  while  he  plied  the  needle  on  the  bench,  and  in 
the  evening  instructed  him  in  other  branches.  Words 
came  to  him  more  readily,  however ;  and  his  popularity 
with  the  working  classes  was  such,  that,  in  1828,  he  was 
chosen  one  of  the  aldermen  of  the  little  town,  and  at 
twenty-two  years  of  age  was  elected  its  mayor.  He 
took  a  lively  interest  in  political  affairs,  identifying 
himself  with  the  working  classes.  In  1835  they  elected 
him  to  the  House  of  Representatives  as  a  Democrat, 
and  in  1840  he  vigorously  advocated  Martin  Van 
Buren's  claims  to  the  presidency ;  while  his  readiness 
as  a  speaker  constantly  increased  his  reputation.  In 
1841  he  was  elected  State  senator,  and  was  universally 
esteemed  as  an  earnest,  honest  man,  heartily  advocating 
whatever  he  thought  to  be  right,  and  denouncing  that 
which  he  considered  wrong.  In  1843  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  Congress,  which  position  he  held  for  ten 
years.  In  1853  he  was  made  governor  of  Tennessee, 
and  re-elected  in  1855 ;  constantly  proving  himself  the 
friend  of  the  working  classes. 

While  he  was  governor  of  Tennessee,  he  cut  and 
made  with  his  own  hands  a  handsome  suit  of  clothes, 


ANDREW   JOHNSON.  463 

which  he  sent  as  a  present  to  Gov.  McGoffin  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  returned  the 
compliment  by  forging  with  his  own  hands  a  shovel 
and  tongs,  which  he  sent  to  Gov.  Johnson,  with  the  wish 
that  they  might  keep  alive  the  flame  of  their  friendship. 

In  1857  Mr.  Johnson  was  elected  by  the  Legislature 
of  Tennessee  as  United-States  senator  for  the  term  of 
six  years.  Both  in  the  House  and  in  the  Senate  he 
adopted,  in  general,  the  Democratic  policy,  opposing  a 
protective  tariff,  and  advocating  the  Homestead  Bill ; 
opposing  the  United-States'  Bank,  and  all  schemes  of 
internal  improvement  by  the  national  Government.  He 
also  strongly  indorsed  the  views  of  the  South  on  the 
incompetency  of  Congress  to  prevent  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  the  Territories. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  never  ashamed  of  his  lowly  origin, 
and  often  took  pride  in  the  fact,  that  what  he  was  he 
owed  distinctly  to  himself.  "  Sir,"  he  once  exclaimed 
on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  "  I  do  not  forget  that  I  am  a 
mechanic  ;  nor  do  I  forget  that  Adam  was  a  tailor  and 
sewed  fig-leaves,  and  that  our  Saviour  was  the  "son  of  a 
carpenter." 

He  was  strongly  opposed  to  secession;  not  so  much 
upon  the  ground  that  slaveholders  were  not  right  in 
their  claim  that  slavery  should  be  nationalized,  as  in 
fear  of  an  appeal  to  arms.  He  said,  "  We  can  more 
successfully  resist  black  Republicanism  by  remaining 
in  the  Union  than  by  going  out  of  it."  Concerning 
Mr.  Lincoln,  on  the  19th  of  December,  1861,  he  said, 
"  I  voted  against  him ;  I  spoke  against  him ;  I  spent 
my  money  to  defeat  him."  But  as  the  Secessionists 
grew  more  determined  in  their  measures,  Mr.  Johnson 


464  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

grew  more  bold  in  his  opposition  ;  and  the  slaveholders 
at  last  turned  fiercely  against  him,  denouncing  him  as 
a  traitor  to  the  South,  while  the  North  looked  with 
admiration  upon  the  moral  courage  which  he  displayed 
in  thus  contending  against  almost  every  senator  and 
representative  of  the  South ;  and  in  this  admiration 
the  North  forgot  that  he  was  or  ever  had  been  Demo- 
cratic and  Southern  in  his  theories.  To  add  to  his 
popularity  in  the  North,  he  was  burned  in  effigy  at 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  in  1861,  and  was  repeatedly  insulted 
by  mobs,  and  threatened  with  lynching.  A  price  was 
even  set  upon  his  head.  A  Rebel  band  sacked  his  home, 
drove  his  wife, —  who  was  ill  at  the  time,  —  and  his  child 
into  the  street,  confiscated  his  slaves,  and  turned  his 
house  into  a  hospital  and  barracks. 

The  Union  party  at  the  North  began  to  regard  him 
as  in  all  points  one  with  them  ;  while  his  own  speeches 
indicated  a  continually  increasing  sympathy  with  the 
views  of  the  great  Republican  party,  which  had  elected 
Abraham  Lincoln.  In  one  of  these  speeches  he  said, 
"  We  may  as  well  talk  of  things  as  they  are  ;  for  if 
any  thing  is  treason,  is  not  levying  war  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment treason  ?  Is  not  an  attempt  to  take  property 
of  the  Government  treason  ?  It  is  treason,  and  nothing 
but  treason."  And  though  the  address  was  met  with 
hisses,  reproaches,  threats,  and  a  shower  of  abuse,  grow- 
ing still  bolder,  he  exclaimed,  "Does  it  need  any 
search  to  find  those  who  are  levying  war,  and  giving  aid 
and  comfort  to  enemies  against  the  United  States? 
And  this  is  treason.  Treason  ought  to  be  punished, 
North  and  South ;  and  if  they  are  traitors,  they  should 
be  entitled  to  traitors'  rewards.  Were  I  the  President 


ANDREW   JOHNSON.  465 

of  the  United  States,  I  would  do  as  Thomas  Jefferson 
did  with  Aaron  Burr.  I  would  have  them  arrested 
and  tried  for  treason  ;  and,  if  convicted,  by  the  eternal 
God  they  should  suffer  the  penalty  of  the  law  at  the 
hands  of  the  executioner."  This  he  said  in  the  Senate 
Chamber,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1861. 

He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  Jacksonian  school ;  but  the 
assumptions  of  the  Secessionists  were  crowding  him  over 
into  the  ranks  of  those  who  would  increase  rather  than 
diminish  the  power  of  the  central  government.  In 
February,  1862,  President  Lincoln,  with  the  approval  of 
the  Senate,  appointed  Andrew  Johnson  military  gover- 
nor of  the  State  of  Tennessee ;  an  appointment  which 
was  received  with  enthusiasm  by  nearly  all  the  loyal 
men  of  the  Union.  On  the  12th  of  March  he  began 
his  administration  with  an  energy  which  cheered  the 
hearts  of  the  long-suffering  Unionists.  The  mayor  of 
Nashville  and  the  city  council  refused  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  he  sent  them  to  the  penitentiary. 
The  editor  of  the  "  Nashville  Banner  "  uttered  treason- 
able sentiments,  and  was  forthwith  imprisoned. 

To  quell  the  marauding  guerilla  Secessionists,  the  fol- 
lowing proclamation  was  issued  :  — 

"  I,  Andrew  Johnson,  do  hereby  proclaim  that  in 
every  instance  in  which  a  Union  man  is  arrested  and 
maltreated  by  marauding  bands,  five  or  more  Rebels  from 
the  most  prominent  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  shall 
be  arrested,  imprisoned,  and  otherwise  dealt  with,  as  the 
nature  of  the  case  may  require ;  and  further,  in  all  cases 
where  the  property  of  citizens  loyal  to  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  is  taken  or  destroyed,  full  and 
ample  remuneration  shall  be  made  to  them  out  of  the 


466  LIVES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

property  of  such  Rebels  in  the  vicinity  as  have  sympa- 
thized with,  and  given  aid,  comfort,  information,  or 
encouragement  to  the  parties  committing  such  depreda- 
tions." He  had  five  clergymen  imprisoned  for  preach- 
ing treason  from  their  pulpits. 

A  little  later  the  Rebel  armies  again  entered  the  State, 
and  Nashville  was  in  a  state  of  siege.  The  timid  ones 
began  to  talk  of  the  necessity  of  surrender,  when  Mr. 
Johnson  exclaimed,  "I  am  no  military  man,  but  any 
one  who  talks  of  surrendering  I  will  shoot."  In  the 
stress  of  the  last  necessity,  when  Nashville  was  com- 
pletely surrounded  by  the  enemy,  Buell,  who  was  in 
command  of  the  forces,  turned  traitor,  to  Johnson's 
way  of  thinking,  and  determined  to  evacuate  the  city 
in  forty-eight  hours.  Col.  Moody  chanced  to  call  at 
the  office  of  the  governor  at  the  moment  when  he  had 
received  Buell's  determination  ;  and  turning  to  him  in 
despair,  Johnson  said,  "Moody,  can  you  pray?"  to 
which  Col.  Moody  replied,  "That  is  my  business,  sir, 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel."  "  Well,  Moody,  I  wish 
you  would  pray,"  said  the  governor;  and  the  colonel 
kneeling,  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees  beside  him, 
and  responded  at  the  close  of  the  prayer  with  an 
emphatic  and  fervent  "Amen."  Rising  from  his  knees, 
Gov.  Johnson  drew  a  long  breath,  and  said,  "I  feel 
better."  But  a  short  time  later,  as  Col.  Moody  was 
going  out  with  orders,  the  governor  turned  suddenly 
and  said,  "  O  Moody,  I  don't  want  you  to  think  that 
I  have  become  a  religious  man  because  I  asked  you  to 
pray.  I  am  sorry  to  say  it,  but  I  am  not,  and  never 
pretended  to  be,  religious ;  no  one  knows  this  any  better 
than  you.  But  Moody,  there  is  one  thing  about  it,  I 


ANDREW   JOHNSON.  467 

do  believe  in  Almighty  God,  and  I  believe  also  in  the 
Bible  ,  and  I  say  damn  me  if  Nashville  shall  be  sur- 
rendered ! " 

The  current  of  events  had  apparently  swept  Mr. 
Johnson  into  entire  sympathy  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  was  not  only  oppposed  to  secession,  but  he 
was  now  opposed  to  slavery,  and  to  the  entire  demands 
of  the  haughty  Southern  aristocracy ;  and  publicly 
avowed  that  he  had  been  converted  heart  and  soul  into 
a  cordial  supporter  of  the  measures  of  President  Lin- 
coln's administration.  In  1863  he  visited  Washington 
to  confer  with  the  President  in  reference  to  the  restora- 
tion of  Tennessee  to  the  Union,  of  which  he  was  very 
strongly  in  favor.  He  had  now  so  thoroughly  identified 
himself  with  the  Republican  party,  and  had  so  warmly 
advocated  its  principles,  that  his  name  began  to  be 
mentioned  for  the  vice-presidency  at  the  approaching 
election,  especially  as  it  was  deemed  very  important,  at 
the  present  crisis,  to  elect  the  vice-president  from  some 
of  the  Southern  States ;  and  there  was  no  name  so 
prominent  as  that  of  Andrew  Johnson.  The  North 
had  learned  to  admire  him,  and  with  enthusiasm  the 
Republican  party  rallied  round  him.  At  the  national 
convention  assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  6th  of  June, 
1864,  almost  by  acclamation  he  was  nominated.  His 
address,  upon  hearing  of  his  nomination,  was  most 
patriotic,  and  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  Govern- 
ment. 

It  was  full  of  noble  truths  nobly  uttered,  that  met 
with  cordial  response  in  every  loyal  heart.  Every 
sentence  elevated  Andrew  Johnson  in  the  estimation  of 
the  American  people.  The  names  of  Lincoln  and 


468  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Johnson  were  at  the  fireside,  at  the  church,  mingled  in 
prayers  of  gratitude  and  thanksgiving  that  God  had 
raised  up  a  Southern  man  to  co-operate  with  the  noble 
Westerner  in  the  protection  and  redemption  of  the 
country. 

The  election  took  place  on  the  14th  of  November, 
1864,  resulting  in  the  choice  of  Lincoln  and  Johnson, 
by  one  of  the  largest  majorities  ever  given  ;  and  on  the 
4th  of  March  Mr.  Johnson  was  inaugurated  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  United  States.  The  clouds  of  gloom  which 
had  so  long  hung  over  the  land  were  beginning  to 
break.  On  the  3d  of  April  there  was  a  meeting  in 
Washington  to  rejoice  over  the  glad  tidings  of  the 
evacuation  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond.  In  the 
address  which  Vice-President  Johnson  made  at  that 
meeting,  he  said,  "  At  the  time  that  the  traitors  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  plotted  against  the  Govern- 
ment, and  entered  into  a  conspiracy  more  vile,  more 
execrable,  and  more  odious  than  that  of  Catiline  against 
the  Romans,  I  happened  to  be  a  member  of  that  body, 
and,  as  to  loyalty,  stood  solitarj'  and  alone  among  the 
Southerners  from  the  Southern  States.  I  was  then 
called  upon  to  know  what  I  would  do  with  such  trai- 
tors, and  I  want  to  repeat  my  reply  here.  I  said, '  If  we 
had  an  Andrew  Jackson,  he  would  hang  them  as  high 
as  Haman.  I  would  arrest  them,  I  would  try  them,  I 
would  convict  them,  and  I  would  hang  them.  It  is  not 
the  men  in  the  field  who  are  the  greatest  traitors ;  it  is 
the  men  who  have  encouraged  them  to  imperil  their 
lives,  spending  their  means,  and  exerting  all  their  power 
to  overthrow  this  Government.  Hence,  I  say,  the 
halter  to  all  intelligent,  influential  traitors.'  " 


ANDREW   JOHNSON".  469 

Then  the  great  Rebel  army  under  Gen.  Lee  surren- 
dered -,  and  in  five  days  more,  while  the  bells  were 
ringing  over  all  the  nation,  at  the  utter  overthrow  of 
the  Rebellion,  the  bullet  of  the  assassin  pierced  the 
brain  of  President  Lincoln.  On  the  morning  of  the 
15th  of  April,  the  fearful  tidings  were  spread  abroad ; 
and  Hon.  James  Speed,  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  waited  upon  Vice-President  Johnson  with  the 
official  communication  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  death.  At 
ten  o'clock,  but  a  little  more  than  two  and  a  half  hours 
after  the  death  of  the  President,  a  small  but  august 
assemblage  met  in  Mr.  Johnson's  private  apartments, 
and  Chief- Justice  Chase  administered  the  oath  of  office. 
The  ceremonies  were  brief,  but  invested  with  unusual 
solemnity,  and  Andrew  Johnson  became  the  President 
of  the  United  States. 

President  Johnson's  first  step  was  to  invite  the  mem- 
bers of  Mr.  Lincoln's  cabinet  to  remain  in  their  places. 
At  their  head  was  the  veteran  William  H.  Seward,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Republican  party.  Hugh  McCul- 
loch  of  Indiana  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Edwin 
M.  Stanton  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  War  ;  Gideon 
Welles  of  Connecticut,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  William 
Dennison  of  Ohio,  Postmaster-General ;  James  Ireland 
of  Iowa,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  and  James  Speed  of 
Kentucky  was  Attorney-General. 

It  was  upon  the  tide  of  popular  enthusiasm  and  patri- 
otism that  Andrew  Johnson  had  been  hailed  as  the 
candidate  for  the  vice-presidency ;  but  when  thus 
placed  in  the  position  of  chief  magistrate,  the  serious 
and  thinking  men  of  the  country  looked  at  the  future 
with  doubt  and  uncertainty ;  for  they  bethought  them 


470  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

that,  after  all,  they  knew  comparatively  little  of  this 
man.  The  first  revelation  of  the  new  President's  inten- 
tions came  in  addresses,  which  he  made  very  soon  after 
his  inauguration,  thoroughly  startling  the  nation  ;  he 
had  pledged  himself,  in  many  an  address,  to  the  sternest 
and  most  resolute  system  with  the  South,  —  a  policy 
almost  of  revengeful  retribution.  Upon  this  his  cabi- 
net was  divided  ;  evenly,  but  for  Secretary  Seward,  by 
far  the  ablest  and  most  influential  member,  who  viewed 
such  a  course  with  the  utmost  regret.  Doubtless  it  was 
his  personal  persuasion,  to  some  extent  combined  with 
many  other  influences,  seen  and  unseen,  which  persuaded 
Andrew  Johnson  to  turn  about  in  a  most  sudden,  appar- 
ently inexplicable  and  radical  manner,  and  forgetting 
all  vengeance  which  he  had  breathed  against  the  South, 
to  try  to  win  the  friendship  of  the  Southern  chiefs.  At 
the  outset,  at  least,  in  this  new  position,  he  had  the  full 
sympathy  of  Secretary  Seward ;  and  having  thus  adopted 
an  entirely  new  line  of  conduct,  President  Johnson  lost 
no  time  in  putting  it  into  action.  His  first  step  was  to 
issue  a  proclamation  of  amnesty  and  pardon  to  all  per- 
sons who  had  taken  part  in  the  Rebellion,  with  a  very 
few.  exceptions, — diplomatic  officers,  military  officers 
above  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  all  who  left  judicial, 
military,  or  Congressional  positions  to  join  the  Rebel- 
lion. The  second  step  was  to  arrange  conditions  under 
which  the  Rebel  States  might  resume  their  relations 
with  the  Union. 

Such  an  extraordinary  change  could  not  easily  be 
understood,  and  Congress  did  not  readily  agree  with 
the  President's  plan  of  reconstruction.  There  arose 
a  long  conflict  between  the  President  and  the  majority 


ANDREW  JOHNSON.  471 

in  Congress  as  to  the  conditions  under  which  the  Rebel 
States  should  be  re-admitted;  and  Congress  at  last 
passed  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, which  for  the  first  time  granted  civil  rights  to  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States.  This  was  vetoed 
by  the  President,  but  was  passed  over  his  veto.  This 
was  followed  by  a  series  of  Reconstruction  Acts  impos- 
ing other  stringent  conditions  on  those  States,  each  Act 
being  vetoed  by  the  President,  and  then  passed  over  his 
veto.  Various  other  subjects  arose  from  time  to  time  to 
imbitter  the  discord  between  the  President  and  Congress. 
The  Freedman's  Bureau  became  a  subject  for  dis- 
cussion. Congress  passed  a  bill  giving  additional 
judicial  and  military  authority  to  the  chief  officers  of 
the  Bureau.  It  was  vetoed  by  the  President:  this 
time  Congress  failed  to  pass  it  over  the  veto.  Then  a 
modified"  bill  was  brought  in,  which  was  passed,  vetoed, 
and  passed  again  over  the  veto.  Another  measure  of 
Congress  which  the  President  strenuously  opposed  was 
the  Tenure  of  Office  Act.  This  bill,  too,  was  vetoed  by 
the  President,  and  passed  over  the  veto.  The  nation  in 
general  was  in  sympathy  with  Congress.  The  President, 
in  contravention  for  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act,  issued 
an  order  removing  Secretary  Stanton  from  office,  and 
substituting  Gen.  Lorenzo  Thomas.  Secretary  Stanton, 
acting  in  harmony  with  the  advice  of  Congress,  refused 
to  surrender  the  post  which  it  was  endeavored  thus 
illegally  to  wrest  from  him.  By  threats  the  President 
endeavored  to  force  them  to  yield.  This  brought  the 
matter  to  such  a  crisis  that  the  impeachment  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  decided  upon.  When  he  urged  the  plea  that 
he  violated  the  law  in  order  that  he  might  bring  the 


472  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

matter  before  the  Supreme  Court  to  test  its  constitu- 
tionality, the  reply  was,  that  he  had  taken  an  oath  to 
execute  the  laws,  and  that  he  could  violate  that  oath 
only  at  his  peril,  which  was  to  be  impeached.  The 
course  which  the  President  had  pursued  had  created 
intense  and  widespread  exasperation.  Those  who  were 
in  sympathy  with  the  Rebellion  applauded  him.  The 
loyal  community  all  over  the  land  was  incensed.  On 
the  4th  of  March,  at  1  o'clock  P.M.,  the  managers  of  the 
impeachment,  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, entered  the  Senate  Chamber  followed  by  the 
members  of  the  House  ;  the  chief  justice  and  the  sena- 
tors (fifty-three  in  number)  forming  the  court  and 
jury.  The  people  of  the  United  States,  through  their 
representatives  in  the  House,  entered  the  prosecution. 
The  President  was  accused  at  the  bar ;  and  the  tedious 
trial  continued  for  nearly  three  months,  whe'n  a  test 
article  of  the  impeachment  was  submitted  to  the  court 
for  action.  As  it  voted  upon  that  article,  it  was  under- 
stood it  would  vote  upon  all.  Thirty-four  votes  pro- 
nounced the  President  guilty,  nineteen  declared  him 
not  guilty ;  and  as  a  two-thirds  vote  was  necessary  to 
his  condemnation,  he  was  acquitted,  notwithstanding 
the  great  majority  against  him.  The  change  of  one 
vote  would  have  impeached  the  President. 

Though  he  remained  in  office  for  the  remainder 
of  his  term,  he  was  but  little  regarded.  Weekly  he 
struggled  to  continue  his  conflict  with  Congress;  but 
his  own  party  did  not  consider  it  expedient  to  renomi- 
nate  him  for  the  presidency,  and  the  nation  rallied  with 
unparalled.  enthusiasm  around  the  name  of  Gen.  Grant, 
utterly  ignoring  Andrew  Johnson. 


ANDREW   JOHNSON.  473 

Never  was  there  presented  to  a  man  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  immortalize  himself,  and  gain  the  gratitude 
of  a  nation ;  but,  though  he  utterly  failed  to  do  this, 
indirectly  and  unintentionally  he  doubtless  strength- 
ened Congress  by  his  opposition,  and  forced  it  to  do 
what  Lincoln  might  have  done ;  and  by  one  vote  only 
he  escaped  the  first  attempt  that  was  ever  made  to 
remove  a  President  of  the  United  States  from  his  high 
office. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  Andrew  Johnson  retired 
from  the  place  where  his  career  had  been  a  troublesome 
and  stormy  one ;  but  he  was  not  willing  yet  to  give  up 
public  life.  After  remaining  in  retirement  for  six  years, 
he  was  elected  by  the  Democrats  to  the  United-States 
Senate,  from  Tennessee,  and  took  his  seat  March  4, 
1875.  His  first  and  last  conspicuous  effort  in  this 
return  to  public  life  was  a  violent  speech  assailing 
President  Grant. 

On  the  27th  of  July,  1875,  he  visited  his  daughter 
at  Carter  Station,  Tenn.,  where  he  was  stricken  with 
paralysis,  rendering  him  unconscious :  he  rallied  for 
a  time,  and  finally  passed  away  July  31,  1875,  aged 
sixty -seven  years.  His  funeral  was  attended  at 
Greenville,  the  scene  of  his  first  attempts  in  public, 
on  the  3d  of  August,  with  every  demonstration  of 
respect. 

He  was  headstrong,  vindictive,  and  stern  in  partisan- 
ship ;  rash,  and  wanting  in  tact,  and  often  in  wisdom ; 
but  it  is  generally  accepted  in  the  cooler  judgment  of 
affairs  that  he  was  honest  and  patriotic  in  intent,  and 
that  his  integrity  as  a  man  was  above  reproach.  Under 
his  administration  the  battle  of  reconstruction  was 


474  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

fought  and  won  by  his  antagonists ;  and  from  out 
the  strife  which  waged  around  him  the  country  issued 
once  more  a  compact  and  united  Republic,  stronger 
for  his  opposition  than  it  could  have  been  with  his 
support. 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

THE  record  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant  is  strikingly  one  of 
development,  rather  than  of  original  prominence  and 
promise.  There  is  nothing  in  his  early  life  indicative 
of  a  remarkable  career.  He  was  an  honest,  energetic, 
modest  boy,  who,  but  for  the  Rebellion,  would  probably 
never  have  been  known  beyond  the  limits  of  the  West- 
ern district  in  which  he  engaged  in  a  commercial 
undertaking.  The  war  developed  the  latent  virtues 
and  heroism  which  crowned  him  with  fame. 

He  was  born  on  the  29th  of  April,  1822,  at  Point 
Pleasant,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  In  a  short  time 
his  father  removed  to  Georgetown,  in  which  remote 
frontier  district  Grant  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation ;  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  entered  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  at  West  Point,  where  he  made  his  mark 
simply  as  a  solid,  sensible,  fair-minded  young  man  of 
sturdy,  honest  character.  He  graduated  in  1843,  his 
record  comparing  favorably  with  the  general  average, 
and  was  sent  as  lieutenant  of  infantry  to  a  distant 
military  post  in  the  Territory  of  Missouri.  There  he 
spent  two  years  watching  the  poor  Indians.  Then  the 
war  with  Mexico  took  place,  and  Grant  was  sent  with 

475 


476  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

his  regiment  to  Corpus  Christi.  In  his  first  battle  the 
opposing  parties  stood  upon  a  vast  open  prairie,  with  a 
half  mile  of  ground  between  them,  and  spent  several 
hours  firing  at  each  other  with  cannon.  His  second 
battle  was  somewhat  fiercer,  at  Resaca  de  la  Palma. 
In  the  third  battle,  Lieut.  Grant  was  one  of  an  army 
of  six  thousand  that  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
marched  upon  Monterey,  which  was  garrisoned  by  ten 
thousand  Mexicans.  In  this  battle  the  young  lieuten- 
ant gave  intimation  of  what  was  in  him.  His  brigade 
had  exhausted  its  ammunition ;  a  messenger  must  be 
sent  for  more,  and  must  pass  along  a  route  exposed  to 
the  bullets  of  the  foe.  Lieut.  Grant,  following  an 
expedient  he  had  learned  from  the  Indians  during  his 
two  years  in  Missouri,  grasped  the  mane"  of  his  horse, 
and  hanging  upon  one  side  of  the  animal,  ran  the 
gantlet  in  safety. 

From  Monterey,  Lieut.  Grant  was  sent  to  aid  Gen. 
Scott  in  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  where  he  again  proved 
an  efficient  officer,  and  in  preparation  for  the  march  to 
the  city  of  Mexico  was  appointed  quartermaster  of  his 
regiment.  At  the  battle  of  Molino  del  Rey,  he  was 
promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  brevetted  captain 
at  the  hill  of  Chapultepec.  At  the  close  of  the  Mexi- 
can war,  Capt.  Grant  returned  with  his  regiment  to 
New  York,  and  was  again  sent  to  a  military  post  on  the 
frontier. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  he  was 
ordered  with  a  battalion  to  Fort  Dallas,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  emigrants.  But  life  became  so  monotonous 
in  those  weary  wilds,  that  Capt.  Grant  resigned  his 
commission,  returned  to  the  States,  married,  and  began 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  477 

the  cultivation  of  a  small  farm  near  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
He  had  little  skill  ^as  a  farmer,  however;  and  very  soon 
wearying  of  the  unprofitable  labor,  he  turned  to  mer- 
cantile life,  and  went  into  the  leather  business  with  a 
younger  brother  at  Galena,  111.,  in  1860. 

When  the  flag  at  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  Capt. 
Grairt,  in  his  counting-room,  remarked,  "  Uncle  Sam 
educated  me  for  the  army  ;  and  though  I  have  served 
him  through  one  war,  I  do  not  feel  that  I  have  yet 
repaid  the  debt.  I  am  still  ready  to  discharge  my 
obligation.  I  shall  buckle  on  my  sword,  and  see  Uncle 
Sam  through  this  war  too."  He  went  into  the  street, 
raised  a  company  of  volunteers,  and,  as  their  captain, 
led  them  to  Springfield,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
where  he  offered  their  services  to  Gov.  Yates.  The 
governor,  impressed  by  the  zeal  and  ability  of  Capt. 
Grant,  gave  him  a  desk  in  his  office,  to  assist  in  the 
volunteer  organization,  which  was  then  being  performed 
in  the  State,  in  behalf  of  the  Government.  His  earnest 
ambition,  however,  desired  active  service  in  the  field; 
and  on  the  15th  of  June,  1861,  he  received  a  commis- 
sion as  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteers, 
and  was  sent  across  the  Mississippi  to  guard  the  Hanni- 
bal and  Hudson  Railroad.  He  was  soon  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  placed  in  command 
at  Cairo,  where  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  meet. 
The  Rebels  raised  their  banner  at  Paducah  ;  but  it  had 
scarcely  appeared  when  Grant  was  on  hand.  They 
fled,  leaving  their  banner  to  be  replaced  by  the  stars 
and  stripes. 

The  Rebels  were  assembling  at  Columbus,  a  few  miles 
from  Cairo.  They  had  a  garrison  of  twenty  thousand 


478  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

men,  and  were  organizing  a  force  at  Belmont  to  invade 
Missouri.  Grant's  strength  was  not  sufficient  to  attack 
Columbus ;  but  he  resolved  to  attempt  the  destruction 
at  Belmont,  though  he  knew  he  could  not  permanently 
hold  the  position,  as  it  was  covered  by  the  guns  of 
Columbus.  Thus,  on  the  evening  of  November  6, 
with  three  thousand  men  conveyed  on  transports, 
Grant  descended  the  river,  landed  early  in  the  morn- 
ing three  miles  from  Belmont,  marched  rapidly  through 
the  forests,  and  attacked  the  earthworks.  They  were 
guarded  by  nearly  twice  the  attacking  force ;  but  the 
Rebels,  bewildered  after  a  short  conflict,  broke  and  fled. 
The  torch  was  applied  to  every  thing  that  would  burn, 
and  the  stars  and  stripes  were  raised  over  the  conquered 
field.  Then,  before  the  guns  of  Columbus  could  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  audacious  party,  Gen.  Grant 
commenced  the  withdrawal  of  his  troops.  An  aid  rode 
up  to  him,  exclaiming,  "  General,  we  are  surrounded  by 
the  enemy."  "Very  well,"  replied  Grant,  "we  must 
cut  our  way  out,  as  we  cut  our  way  in.  We  have 
whipped  them  once,  and  I  think  we  can  whip  them 
again."  They  did  cut  their  way  through  thirteen 
regiments  of  infantry  and  three  squadrons  of  cavalry. 
They  regained  their  boats,  and  returned  to  Cairo, 
having  destroyed  a  vast  amount  of  material  of  war, 
captured  a  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners  and  two  guns, 
and  spiked  four  guns  which  could  not  be  removed. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1862,  Fort  Donelson  was 
attacked  by  Commodore  Foote  on  the  river,  while 
Gen.  Grant  mano3uvred  with  the  land  force.  As 
Grant  was  preparing  to  storrn  the  intrenchments,  with 
twenty-seven  thousand  men,  Gen.  Buckner  sent  a  note 


ULYSSES   S.   GKANT.  479 

to  him  asking  for  terms  of  surrender.  Gen.  Grant's 
reply  was  characteristic.  "  No  terms  can .  be  accepted 
but  unconditional  surrender.  I  propose  to  move  im- 
mediately upon  your  works."  The  result  was,  that 
seventy-five  guns,  twenty-six  thousand  small  arms,  and 
an  immense  amount  of  military  stores,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  victors. 

Gen.  Grant  had  introduced  a  new  era  of  hard  fighting 
into  the  conflict.  The  nation  was  electrified  by  the 
victory,  and  Secretary  Stanton  recommended  the  suc- 
cessful officer  as  major-general  of  volunteers.  The  same 
day  President  Lincoln  sent  the  nomination  to  the 
Senate,  and  the  Senate  at  once  confirmed  it.  Thus,  by 
the  fall  of  Donelson,  which  was  really  the  first  im- 
portant success  which  the  Union  armies  had  achieved, 
Gen.  Grant  was  lifted  into  a  national  reputation,  and 
the  military  district  of  Tennessee  was  assigned  to  him. 
Then  came  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  named  for  a  church 
a  few  miles  from  the  landing  where  the  battle  was 
commenced,  when  Gen.  Johnston,  with  an  overwhelm- 
ing force,  marched  upon  Gen.  Grant,  who  with  a  little 
band  was  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Buell.  It 
proved  a  day  of  fearful  carnage,  and  never  was  the 
energy  of  Gen.  Grant  more  signally  displayed  than  in 
those  hours  of  disaster.  No  thought  of  ultimate  defeat 
seemed  to  enter  his  mind.  Night  put  a  temporary  end 
to  the  slaughter,  and  he  instantly  began  to  re-organize 
his  shattered  division,  and  form  a  new  plan  of  battle. 
Every  available  man  was  prepared  for  immediate  action. 
With  the  earliest  dawn,  when  the  rebels  expected  to 
find  the  expiring  remnant  ready  to  surrender,  they 
received  instead  an  impetuous  assault.  During  the 


480  LIVES   OP  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

long  hours  of  the  day  the  conflict  waged  with  uninter- 
rupted fury,  and  night  again  found  the  field  still  dis- 
puted. The  next  morning,  however,  disclosed  the  fact 
that  the  Rebels  had  retreated  to  their  intrenchments  at 
Corinth. 

The  battles  of  Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing,  had 
been  fought,  and  Gen.  Grant  had  gained  another  signal 
victory.  Then  followed  the  famous  siege  of  Vicksburg. 
For  days,  for  months,  there  was  almost  incessant  fight- 
ing. The  defence  of  Vicksburg  was  as  determined  as 
the  assault.  When  some  one  asked  Gen.  Grant  if  he 
really  thought  he  could  take  the  place,  he  replied, 
"Certainly.  I  cannot  tell  exactly  when  I  shall  take 
the  town,  but  I  mean  to  stay  here  until  I  do,  if  it 
takes  me  thirty  years."  The  final  assault  was  arranged 
to  take  place  on  the  4th  of  July  ;  but,  being  forewarned, 
Gen.  Pemberton,  knowing  that  he  could  not  withstand 
it,  proposed  a  capitulation,  to  which,  as  usual,  Gen. 
Grant  replied  that  his  only  terms  were  unconditional 
surrender  ;  and  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863, 
the  white  flags  arose  along  the  Rebel  lines,  announcing 
the  unconditional  surrender  of  Vicksburg.  A  more 
signal  conquest  was  never  made.  Nearly  forty  thou- 
sand prisoners  were  taken  and  seventy -two  cannon ; 
and  the  Mississippi  River  was  thrown  open  to  the  gun- 
boats of  the  North,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Cairo. 
Shortly  afterward,  however,  in  New  Orleans,  Gen. 
Grant  was  thrown  from  his  horse  while  reviewing  his 
soldiers,  receiving  injuries  which  seriously  disabled  him 
for  several  months,  confining  him  to  his  bed  for  three 
weeks,  and  greatly  delaying  several  important  move- 
ments which  he  had  proposed. 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  481 

Later  in  the  fall  Gen.  Thomas  became  entangled  by 
the  enemy  at  Chattanooga,  where  he  was  closely  be- 
sieged, and  his  line  of  communication  cut  off.  On  the 
19th  of  October,  Gen.  Grant  telegraphed  him,  "  Hold 
Chattanooga  at  all  hazards:  I  will  be  there  as  soon  as 
possible."  Gen.  Thomas  characteristically  replied,  "I 
will  hold  the  town  till  we  starve."  On  the  twenty-third 
day  of  October,  true  to  his  word,  Gen.  Grant  entered. 
Then  began  a  display  of  energy  and  military  sagacity 
rarely  surpassed.  First  he  succeeded  in  opening  a  line 
of  communication,  and  the  whole  army  was  inspired 
with  such  new  life  as  to  double  its  moral  strength. 
"The  Richmond  Enquirer,"  the  leading  organ  of  the 
Rebels,  in  speaking  of  the  matter,  said,  "The  enemy 
were  outfought,  but  the  present  condition  of  affairs 
looks  as  though  we  had  been  outgeneralled."  When 
Gen.  Sherman's  troops  arrived,  Grant  instantly  assumed 
the  offensive.  Sherman,  Thomas,  Hooker,  —  all  entered 
valiantly  into  the  struggle  ,•  and  on  the  25th  of  October, 
Gen.  Grant  taking  his  position  upon  Orchard  Knoll, 
the  whole  army  rushed  upon  the  foe.  The  scene 
beggars  description,  though  many  a  pen  has  endeavored 
to  do  justice  to  that  dreadful  battle.  In  the  evening 
Gen.  Grant  telegraphed  to  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington in  his  characteristic  modest  way,  "The  battle 
lasted  from  early  dawn  till  dark  this  evening.  I  believe 
I  am  not  premature  in  announcing  a  complete  victory 
over  Bragg.  I  have  no  idea  of  finding  him  here  in  the 
morning."  This  great  achievement  pierced  the  heart 
of  the  Rebellion,  freed  Burnside,  rescued  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  and  opened  the  gate  for  the  grand  march  to 
the  sea.  It  was  a  tremendous  victory ;  and  following 


482  LIVES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

ft  up,  Gen.  Grant  gave  the  Rebels  no  rest  till  they  were 
driven  fairly  out  of  Tennessee,  and  into  Georgia,  leav- 
ing in  history  his  campaign  of  Chattanooga  as  one  of 
the  most  memorable  upon  record.  One  of  the  officers, 
describing  the  general's  conduct  in  the  battle,  said,  "  It 
is  a  matter  of  universal  wonder  that  Gen.  Grant  was 
not  killed ;  for  he  was  always  in  the  front,  and  perfectly 
regardless  of  the  whizzing  bullets  and  screaming  shell 
flying  around  him." 

Immediately  upon  the  meeting  of  Congress  after 
these  events,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  by  that  body 
to  Gen.  Grant  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  his 
command.  A  gold  medal  was  ordered  to  be  struck  off 
with  suitable  emblems  to  be  presented  to  the  general, 
while  several  States  followed  the  example  in  passing 
votes  of  thanks.  But  the  energetic  general  manifested 
no  disposition  to  rest  upon  his  laurels.  He  gathered 
up  his  strength  to  push  the  war  with  renewed  vigor. 
Three  armies  were  now  under  his  command,  extending 
over  a  line  a  thousand  miles  in  length.  Gen.  Grant 
was  responsible  for  all  their  movements,  for  every  act 
and  every  neglect  to  act. 

In  the  midwinter,  through  storms  and  snow  as  they 
might  come  in  the  mountain  passes,  Gen.  Grant,  on 
horseback,  visited  the  outposts  of  his  army,  and  in 
Knoxville,  Louisville,  Lexington,  and  St.  Louis  he  was 
received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm ;  but  no  efforts 
could  flatter,  persuade,  or  provoke  him  to  make  a 
speech,  with  a  single  exception.  An  immense  crowd 
gathered  about  his  hotel  one  evening  in  St.  Louis,  and 
after  serenading  him,  began  an  incessant  shouting  for 
a  speech.  After  a  long  delay,  the  general  appeared 


ULYSSES   S.    GRANT.  483 

upon  the  balcony,  and  in  the  breathless  silence  which 
followed,  leaning  over  the  rail,  he  said  slowly  and  de- 
liberately, "  Gentlemen,  making  speeches  is  not  ray 
business.  I  never  did  it  in  my  life,  and  I  never  will. 
I  thank  you,  however,  for  your  attendance  here." 
Then  he  retired  amid  uproars  of  applause. 

National  honors  were  now  lavished  upon  him  in  every 
possible  form.  On  the  4th  of  Februrary  Congress  re- 
vived the  grade  of  lieutenant-general  to  confer  it  upon 
Gen.  Grant.  On  the  3d  of  March  he  was  summoned 
to  Washington  to  receive  his  credentials,  and  enter 
upon  the  immense  responsibilities  of  his  new  office. 
At  every  railway  station  by  the  way,  crowds  gathered 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his  face,  and  the  enthusiasm  was 
unbounded  upon  his  arrival  in  Washington.  Unher- 
alded he  succeeded  in  slipping  into  the  dining-room  at 
Willard's  Hotel,  and  secured  a  seat  for  himself  at  the 
table ;  but  a  gentleman,  recognizing  him,  rose  and 
announced  to  the  guests  that  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
was  in  the  room.  Instantly  the  entire  company  sprang 
to  its  feet,  and  cheer  after  cheer  rang  through  the  hall. 
President  Lincoln  gave  a  levee  in  the  evening  in  his 
honor ;  but  Gen.  "Grant  had  no  taste  for  such  ovations, 
and  when  retiring  that  night,  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  I 
hope  to  get  away  from  Washington  as  soon  as  possible, 
for  I  am  tired  of  this  show  business  already." 

On  the  9th  Gen.  Grant  received  his  commission  in 
the  Executive  Chamber  in  the  presence  of  the  cabinet 
and  distinguished  guests ;  and  in  response  to  a  few 
hearty  words  from  the  President,  he  said,  — 

"I  accept  this  commission  with  gratitude  for  the 
high  honor  conferred.  With  the  aid  of  the  noble 


484  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

armies  who  have  fought  on  so  many  battle-fields  for 
our  common  country,  it  will  be  my  earnest  endeavor 
not  to  disappoint  your  expectations.  I  feel  the  full 
weight  of  the  responsibility  now  devolving  upon  me. 
I  know  that  if  it  is-properly  met,  it  will  be  due  to  those 
armies,  and  above  all  to  that  Providence  which  leads 
both  nations  and  men." 

Some  ladies  in  Washington,  patriotic  and  noble 
women,  but  without  sufficient  reflection  perhaps,  pro- 
posed a  ball  in  connection  with  the  grand  review  of  the 
army,  which  was  immediately  to  take  place.  But  in 
terms  kind,  yet  sad,  which  endeared  him  to  every  sol- 
dier and  every  soldier's  friend,  Gen.  Grant  replied  to 
them,  "I  am  not  a  cynic.  I  enjoy  rational  pleasures 
as  well  as  any  one  else ;  but  I  would  ask  you,  in  all 
candor  and  gentleness,  if  this  is  a  time  for  music  and 
dancing  and  feasting  among  the  officers  of  the  army? 
Is  our  country  in  a  condition  to  call  for  such  things  at 
present  ?  Do  army  balls  inspire  our  troops  with  courage 
in  the  field  ?  Do  they  soothe  the  sick  and  wounded  in 
the  hospitals?" 

Ge"n.  Grant  bent  all  his  energies  now  to  terminate 
the  war  by  the  only  possible  means,  —  a  destruction  of 
the  enemy's  forces.  He  began  to  concentrate  the  widely 
dispersed  national  troops.  All  the  great  roads  leading 
toward  Richmond  were  thronged  ;*and  on  the  3d  of  May, 
1864,  the  great  army  crossed  the  Rapidan,  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  strong,  to  traverse  that  region  most 
appropriately  called  the  "  Wilderness."  Gen.  Lee,  in 
command  of  the  Rebel  hosts,  an  officer  of  great  ability, 
led  troops  as  desperate  in  valor  as  ever  marched  the  earth. 
Massing  his  forces,  he  suddenly  emerged  from  the  forest, 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  485 

and  fell  upon  the  entire  centre  of  the  extended  line  of 
the  Northern  troops.  The  battle  was  long  and  terrible. 
For  two  days  it  lasted  with  unabated  fury  ;  then  Gen. 
Lee  retreated  to  Spottsylvania,  whither  the  Union  army 
hurried  for  the  third  day's  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 
Great  billows  of  war  were  sweeping  incessantly  to  and 
fro  through  that  wilderness,  day  after  day,  as  the  battle 
raged,  till  at  midnight,  in  the  midst  of  a  thunder-storm, 
Gen.  Hancock,  by  Grant's  command,  plunged  with  a 
strong  column  upon  one  division  of  the  sleeping  foe,  and 
drove  them  before  him,  capturing  seven  thousand  pris- 
oners and  thirty-two  guns.  As  though  the  day  were 
not  sufficient  for  the  fighting,  this  signal  roused  the 
exhausted  armies,  and  the  battle  continued  through  the 
remainder  of  the  night.  The  sun  rose  ;  noon  came,  fol- 
lowed by  evening  and  darkness.  For  fourteen  hours 
the  men  had  fought,  and  still  Gen.  Grant  was  steadily 
pressing  forward,  never  relinquishing  a  foot  of  the 
ground  which  he  had  gained.  But  the  history  of  the 
campaign  is  well  known.  During  the  struggle,  a  states- 
man who  was  present  one  evening  in  Grant's  tent  said 
to  him,  "  General,  if  you  flank  Lee  and  get  between 
him  and  Richmond,  will  you  not  uncover  Washington, 
and  leave  it  exposed  to  the  enemy  ?  "  The  general's 
reply  was,  "  Yes,  I  reckon  so." — "And  do  you  not  think," 
continued  the  statesman,  "  that  Lee  can  detach  a  suffi- 
cient force  to  re-enforce  Beauregard  at  Richmond,  and 
overwhelm  Butler?"  The  general  replied,  "I  have  no 
doubt  of  it."  —  "  And  is  there  not  danger,"  the  statesman 
continued,  "that  Johnson  may  come  up  and  re-enforce 
Lee,  so  that  the  latter  will  swing  around,  and  cut  off 
your  communications  and  seize  your  supplies  ?  "  —  "  Very 


486  LIVES   OF   THE   PKESIDENTS. 

likely,"  replied  the  general.  This  being  all  the  satis- 
faction which  the  statesman  could  obtain,  he  returned 
to  Washington  somewhat  doubtful  concerning  the 
course  which  Gen.  Lee  would  really  follow,  and  what 
Gen.  Grant  actually  intended  to  do.  But  Grant  was 
distinctively  a  man  of  actions,  not  of  words ;  and  he 
was  willing  to  show  all  those  who  were  patient  just 
what  he  intended  to  do. 

Few  persons  are  aware  of  the  magnitude  of  such  an 
army  as  Gen.  Grant  was  commanding  at  this  time. 
The  vast  hosts  would  fill,  in  a  continuous  line,  any  one 
road  to  its  utmost  capacity  for  nearly  a  hundred  miles. 
One  mind  must  preside  supreme  over  the  operations, 
rapidly  changing  day  and  night,  night  and  day,  as  they 
fought  against  a  determined  foe  of  a  hundred  thousand 
desperate  men.  They  were  within  forty  miles  of  Rich- 
mond, and  drawing  nearer.  Another  day,  and  by  a 
sudden  manoauvre  Gen.  Grant  brought  himself  within 
fifteen  miles  of  Richmond.  In  the  desperation  of  this 
last  struggle,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  army 
was  enabled  to  endure  the  fatigue ;  for  it  seemed  the 
plan  of  Gen.  Grant  to  march  all  day  and  fight  all  night. 
One  writer,  in  speaking  of  this  last  famous  campaign, 
said,  "  It  is  wonderful  how  entirely  the  army  confides 
in  Gen.  Grant.  Every  soldier's  tongue  is  full  of  his 
praises.  He  is  everywhere,  night  and  day,  looking 
after  the  comfort  of  his  men,  and  quietly  prosecuting 
the  strategic  work  of  the  campaign ;  speaking  a  pleas- 
ant word  to  the  pickets  if  faithfully  on  duty,  adminis- 
tering reprimands  if  not  vigilant  and  watchful,  going 
often  only  accompanied  by  an  orderly.  He  is  a  thought- 
ful, resolute,  kind  man ;  sympathizing  with  the  humblest 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  487 

soldier  in  his  ranks ;  penetrated  with  a  solemn  appre- 
ciation of  the  work  given  him  to  do." 

Thus  days  and  weeks  ensued;  and  Gen.  Grant,  step 
by  step,  was  approaching  nearer  the  attainment  of  his 
great  end.  On  the  9th  of  April  he  sent  a  message  to 
Gen.  Lee,  in  which  he  said,  "  The  result  of  the  last  week 
must  convince  you  of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  I 
feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from 
myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  effusion  of  blood, 
by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the 
Confederate  army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  To  Lee's  inquiry  concerning  the  terms  of 
surrender,  Grant  replied,  "  Peace  being  my  first  desire, 
there  is  but  one  condition  I  insist  upon ;  namely,  that 
the  men  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for  taking  up 
arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
until  properly  exchanged."  Gen.  Lee  did  not  consider 
it  necessary  at  the  time  to  surrender ;  and  Gen.  Grant, 
without  waiting  for  a  reply,  pressed  forward  at  once  with 
his  preparations,  when  Gen.  Lee  again  applied  to  him, 
agreeing  to  his  terms.  The  papers  of  surrender  were 
signed  at  half-past  three  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  9th  of 
ApriL  The  information  caused  the  Rebel  army  to  break 
out  in  a  series  of  shouts  and  cheers,  for  it  came  to  them 
as  a  signal  of  deliverance ;  and  the  hills  rang  with  the 
joyful  cries  of  the  two  armies. 

Such  was  the  man  to  whom  the  Republicans  turned 
in  the  crisis  that  followed  the  tragic  death  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  and  the  ill-conceived  struggle  with  Andrew 
Johnson.  There  was  no  name  in  the  United  States 
capable  of  inciting  such  unbounded  enthusiasm,  as  was 


488  LIVES   OF   THE   PKESIDEXTS. 

f 

well  evidenced  when  the  Republican  convention  met  at 
Chicago,  on  the  21st  of  May,  1868,  to  vote  for  a  candi- 
date to  fill  the  office  of  chief  magistrate.  The  vote  was 
announced  in  these  terms  :  "  Gentlemen  of  the  conven- 
tion, you  have  six  hundred  and  fifty  voters,  and  you 
have  given  six  hundred  and  fifty  votes  for  Gen.  Ulysses 
S.  Grant." 

In  the  succeeding  election  twenty-six  of  the  States 
gave  their  electoral  votes,  numbering  two  hundred  and 
fourteen,  for  Gen.  Grant.  Eight  cast  their  votes,  eighty 
in  all,  for  Seymour.  Thus,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1869, 
Gen.  Grant  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  office 
under  most  favorable  circumstances.  The  country 
was  in  a  state  of  prosperity,  the  tempest  of  the  war  had 
subsided,  and  nearly  all  questions  of  importance  which 
had  divided  the  two  parties  were  settled. 

But  no  man  can  occupy  the  presidential  chair  with- 
out exciting  obloquy.  No  President,  for  instance,  has 
been  more  fiercely  assailed  than  Washington  or  Jeffer- 
son. President  Grant  found  the  Southern  States  in 
a  chaotic  condition,  and  before  him  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  political  problems.  The  organization  of  his 
cabinet  was  attended  with  difficulty.  Horace  Greeley, 
with  some  of  his  wayward  but  well-sounding  maxims, 
also  proved  a  decided  stumbling-block.  But  as  the 
result  of  the  course  followed  by  the  Government,  finan- 
cially at  least,  the  five-per-cent  bonds  reached  a  par  value 
in  gold,  where,  at  the  end  of  Mr.  Johnson's  administra- 
tion, the  six-per-cent  bonds  were  only  worth  eighty- 
three  and  a  half  cents  on  a  dollar. 

It  was  in  a  discussion  upon  the  Indian  policy  that 
Gen.  Grant  uttered  that  sentence  which  since  has 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  489 

become  almost  a  maxim :  "  I  know  of  no  method  to 
secure  the  repeal  of  bad  or  obnoxious  laws  so  efficient 
as  their  stringent  execution." 

Very  early  in  his  administration,  President  Grant  was 
compelled  to  consider  the  struggle  between  Cuba  and 
Spain.  Then  the  question  of  the  Alabama  claims  came 
up,  and  a  series  of  circumstances  which  resulted  in  the 
alienation  of  President  Grant  and  Mr.  Sumner.  Then 
the  negotiations  took  place  which  ended  in  the  treaty 
of  1871  with  Great  Britain,  conducted  by  Mr.  Fish, 
Secretary  of  State. 

The  popular  verdict,  at  all  events,  was  very  much  in 
favor  of  Gen.  Grant;  for  the  Republican  convention 
met  in  June,  1872,  and,  in  a  platform  vigorously  sus- 
taining Grant's  Southern  reconstruction  policy,  renomi- 
nated  him,  with  Henry  Wilson  of  Massachusetts  for 
Vice-President.  A  disturbed  body  of  Republicans, 
calling  themselves  "Liberals,"  met  in  Cincinnati  in 
convention,  and  nominated  Horace  Greeley  for  Presi- 
dent ;  while  the  Democratic  National  Convention  met 
at  Baltimore,  and  indorsed  the  Liberal  Republican  can- 
didates and  platform ;  and  a  convention  of  old-line 
Democrats,  dissatisfied  with  the  Baltimore  convention, 
met  at  Louisville,  nominating  Charles  O'Conor  for 
President,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Mr.  O'Conor  and  Mr.  Adams  refused  these 
nominations,  however,  and  Grant  and  Wilson  received 
two  hundred  and  eighty-six  electoral  votes.  Mr.  Greeley 
died  between  the  day  of  election  and  the  counting  of 
votes.  Thus,  in  the  popular  vote,  the  first  administra- 
tion of  Gen.  Grant  was  thoroughly  indorsed.  During 
his  administration,  too,  the  national  debt  was  reduced 


490  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

more  than  four  hundred  million  dollars.  He  was  a 
strong  Protectionist,  and  a  thorough  Republican ;  and 
in  an  unostentatious  manner  he  most  emphatically 
acted  upon  the  dictates  of  the  later  civil-service  reform. 
Public  credit  was  re-established  upon  a  firm  basis,  and 
the  long-delayed  resumption  of  specie  payment  was 
rendered  possible. 

During  his  first  term,  Gen.  Grant  certainly  ac- 
quitted himself  with  dignity.  The  national  credit  and 
national  honor,  though  vehemently  attacked,  were  ad- 
mirably maintained.  Reconstruction  was  carried  on 
and  completed  on  a  basis  of  humanity  and  justice ;  and 
the  purity  of  motive,  the  high  integrity,  and  unsullied 
patriotism  of  the  President  were  never  successfully  as- 
sailed. During  the  next  four  years,  however,  the  policy 
seemed  to  have  been  changed,  and  was  fraught  with 
many  errors,  which  left  an  impression  of  regret  upon 
the  public  mind.  It  is  by  no  means  assured  that  the 
President  had  any  personal  connection  with  the  many 
public  scandals ;  but  there  was  a  general  feeling  that,  to 
some  extent  at  least,  they  might  have  been  the  result 
of  carelessness  on  his  part,  many  high  officials  being 
implicated. 

During  the  administration  the  country  was  at  peace 
at  home  and  abroad,  save  for  a  temporary  fear  that 
there  would  be  war  with  Spain,  and  for  the  ever-vexing 
Indian  question.  The  Centennial  Exhibition  was  held 
during  the  second  term ;  the  President  himself  opened 
it.  There  was  a  strong  desire,  notwithstanding  all  the 
blunders  and  scandals  connected  with  the  administra- 
tion, to  nominate  the  President  for  a  third  term.  But 
there  was  so  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  ranks  of  the 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  491 

party  that  another  nomination  was  made,  and  Ruther- 
ford B.  Hayes  of  Ohio  became  the  successor  of  Grant. 

Having  finished  his  second  term,  the  ex-President 
embarked  for  Liverpool.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer,  the  spectacle  which  confronted  the  eyes  of 
the  visitors  was  grand  in  the  extreme.  All  the  ships 
in  the  harbor  were  decorated  with  flags  and  bunting, 
thousands  of  people  were  gathered  on  the  wharves,  and 
the  very  earth  seemed  to  tremble  with  their  shouts  that 
rent  the  air.  The  ovation  continued  throughout  his 
journey  to  London,  where  the  most  stately  of  all  the 
ceremonies  gotten  up  in  his  honor  was  that  in  which 
the  freedom  of  the  city  was  conferred  upon  him,  —  the 
highest  honor  that  could  be  paid  by  this  ancient  and 
renowned  corporation.  Then  came  the  crowning  event 
of  his  visit  to  England,  —  a  reception  by  the  Queen  at 
Windsor  Castle.  Wherever  he  moved  in  England,  fes- 
tivity succeeded  festivity.  Upon  the  Continent  it  was 
much  the  same.  Thence  he  visited  the  East,  but  there 
was  no  change  in  the  desire  evinced  to  do  him  honor. 
The  Sultan  received  him  at  Constantinople.  In  Greece 
and  Egypt  the  demonstrations  were  the  same.  Through 
India,  China,  and  Japan  new  demonstrations  were  pre- 
pared for  him.  His  reception  abroad  exceeded  in  mag- 
nificence and  splendor  any  ever  before  bestowed  upon 
an  American.  His  welcome  home  likewise  surpassed 
in  enthusiasm  any  thing  before  exhibited  by  the 
American  people  to  one  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

After  his  return  from  abroad,  there  was  another  vain 
endeavor  made  to  secure  a  nomination  of  the  general 
for  a  third  term  in  the  presidential  office ;  and  at  the 
end  of  the  political  contest,  Gen.  Grant  removed  to 


492  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

New  York,  and  identified  himself  with  several  business 
enterprises:  it  was  here,  too,  that  Grant  wrote  his 
"Memoirs."  While  living  in  New  York,  he  visited 
Mexico.  Early  in  1881  the  project  was  formed  in  New- 
York  City  to  hold  a  world's  fair  there  in  1883,  and 
Gen.  Grant  was  elected  president ;  but  he  resigned,  and 
the  plan  was  finally  abandoned. 

In  the  winter  of  1883  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  negotiate  a  reciprocity  treaty  with 
Mexico.  It  was  about  this  time,  too,  that  the  firm  of 
Grant  &  Ward  was  formed,  which  drew  such  unfortu- 
nate attention  upon  the  general. 

Misfortunes  gathered  more  thickly  about  him.  Acci- 
dents, illness,  and  disappointment  forced  him  to  lead 
a  quiet  life,  in  which  he  found  a  temporary  respite  in 
the  writing  of  a  series  of  papers  on  the  civil  war,  which 
appeared  in  "The  Century  Magazine."  This  under- 
taking for  the  Century  Company  proved  an  impulse 
inciting  Gen.  Grant  to  a  more  pretentious  effort. 

While  at  Long  Branch,  early  in  the  summer  of  1884, 
an  irritation  began  in  the  general's  throat,  which 
terminated  in  the  fatal  epithelioma.  He  had  nearly 
completed  the  first  volume  of  his  "  Memoirs  "  at  the 
time  when  he  was  taken  ill,  and  eagerly  began  upon 
the  second  volume.  Steadily  the  fearful  malady  grew 
upon  him.  His  family  were  gathered  about  him  ;  and 
though  every  precaution  was  taken,  and  every  care 
extended  to  him,  it  was  perfectly  evident  that  he  could 
not  remain  much  longer.  Many  times  he  rallied  from 
what  was  thought  to  be  the  last,  and,  during  quiet 
intervals,  persistently  kept  at  work  upon  his  "Memoirs." 
Often  in  intense  .pain,  often  standing  at  what  all  felt 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  493 

was  the  door  of  Death,  he  still  persistently  adhered  to 
the  plan  which  he  had  laid  down,  as  characteristically 
as  during  his  conflict  with  the  South  ;  and  he  did  not 
finally  put  aside  his  pen  until  a  few  days  before  the  1st 
of  June,  when  it  had  written  "  The. End  "  to  his  book. 

Then  he  was  removed  to  Mount  MacGregor,  where 
the  cottage  of  Joseph  W.  Drexel  had  been  placed  at 
his  service ;  and,  for  a  time,  the  mountain  air  had  a 
most  exhilarating  effect  upon  the  general.  He  sur- 
vived until  the  twenty-third  day  of  July,  1885,  wheii 
he  died,  surrounded  by  his  entire  family.  On  the  person 
of  the  dead  hero  was  found  the  following :  — 

MOUNT  MACGREGOR,  July  9,  1885. 

Last  Message  to  my  Wife,  —  Look  after  our  dear  children,  and 
direct  them  in  paths  of  rectitude.  It  would  distress  me  far  more 
to  think  that  one  of  them  could  depart  from  an  honorable,  upright 
and  virtuous  life,  than  it  would  to  know  that  they  were  prostrated 
on  a  bed  of  sickness  from  which  they  were  never  to  arise  alive. 
They  have  never  given  us  any  cause  for  alarm  on  their  account, 
and  I  earnestly  pray  that  they  never  will.  With  these  few  injunc- 
tions, and  the  knowledge  I  have  of  your  love  and  affection,  I  will 
bid  you  a  final  farewell  until  we  meet  in  another,  and,  I  trust,  a 
better  world. 

The  death  of  Gen.  Grant  was  announced  in  a  procla- 
mation, signed  by  the  President,  and  counter-signed 
by  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  an  order  for  draping 
the  public  buildings,  and  closing  all  public  business  on 
the  day  of  the  funeral.  Similar  orders  were  issued 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  that  each  vessel  of 
the  United  States  navy  bear  the  ensigns  at  half-mast ; 
that  a  gun  be  fired  at  intervals  of  every  half-hour, 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  at  each  naval  station  and  on 


494:  LIVES    OF    THE    PRESIDENTS. 

board  flag-ships ;  that  officers  of  the  navy  and  marine 
corps  wear  badges  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 
Similar  proclamations  were  issued  by  various  governors, 
and  North  and  South  alike  joined  in  expressions  of  love 
and  sorrow. 

It  was  decided  that  the  body  of  Gen.  Grant  should 
be  buried  at  Riverside  Park,  upon  the  Hudson  River. 
No  spot  could  have  been  more  fitting.  The  arrange- 
ments for  the  funeral  were  under  the  direction  of  Gen. 
Hancock. 

In  response  to  a  request  from  Mrs.  Grant,  President 
Cleveland  appointed  the  following  gentlemen  as  pall- 
bearers :  Gen.  William  T.  Sherman,  Lieut.-Gen.  Philip 
H.  Sheridan,  Admiral  David  D.  Porter,  Vice-Admiral 
Stephen  C.  Rowan,  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnson,  Gen. 
Simon  B.  Buckner,  Hamilton  Fish,  George  S.  Boutwell, 
George  W.  Childs,  Gen.  John  A.  Logan,  George  Jones, 
and  Oliver  Hoyt. 

On  Tuesday,  Aug.  4,  private  funeral  services  were 
held  at  the  little  cottage  on  Mount  MacGregor,  where 
over  a  thousand  people  assembled.  Shortly  after  one 
o'clock,  the  funeral  train  of  draped  cars  transferred  the 
solemn  procession  to  Albany,  amid  the  firing  of  guns 
and  tolling  of  bells,  where  the  body  lay  in  state  for  a 
time,  and  was  finally  moved  to  New  York. 

While  the  services  were  being  held  at  Mount  Mac- 
Gregor, a  notable  audience  gathered  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  London.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge,  Gen.  Lord 
Wolseley,  and  other  distinguished  officers  of  the  English 
army  and  navy,  were  present.  Lord  Salisbury  and 
two  members  of  the  Cabinet,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone, 
and  a  vast  number  of  representative  men  and  women, 


ULYSSES   S.   GRANT.  495 

our  own  Chief  Justice  Waite,  Senator  Edmunds,  and 
Gen.  Hawley  were  among  those  that  thronged  the  vast 
building  to  its  utmost  capacity,  as  Archdeacon  Farrar 
delivered  a  memorial  address,  abounding  in  expressions 
of  warmest  admiration  for  Gen.  Grant. 

While  the  body  lay  in  state  in  New  York,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  twp  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people 
paid  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  hero ;  while  no 
less  than  three  million  human  beings  watched  the  final 
march  to  the  tomb.  No  such  impressive  burial  services 
were  ever  accorded  an  American  statesman ;  and  the 
wide  world  said  Amen  to  the  sentiments  with  which 
Canon  Farrar  closed  his  memorial  address :  "  Let  us 
write  his  virtues  on  brass  for  men's  example.  Let  his 
faults,  whatever  they  may  have  been,  be  written  on 
water." 


\^Q^, 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

THE  town  of  Delaware,  the  county  seat  of  the  county 
of  Delaware,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  claims  the  honor  of 
being  the  birthplace  of  the  eighteenth  President  of  the 
United  States.  Here,  on  the  4th  of  October,  1822, 
Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes  was  born,  less  than  three 
months  after  the  death  of  his  father.  This  father  was 
a  quick,  bright,  accurate,  and  active  business  man ;  he 
could  do  a  great  deal  of  work,  and  do  it  well.  He  was 
rigidly  honest,  and  was  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  mother  of  the  future  President  united  force  of 
character  with  sweetness  of  nature.  In  village  parlance 
she  was  known  as  a  "good  manager,"  a  good  Christian, 
and,  like  her  husband,  was  beloved  by  all  her  friends 
and  neighbors.  She  died  in  October,  1866,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-four. 

Rutherford  was  sent  to  the  ordinary  schools  of  the 
town  at  an  early  age,  and  then,  through  the  agency  of 
an  uncle,  to  an  academy  at  Norwalk,  O.  Here  he 
remained  one  year ;  and  in  the  fall  of  1837,  to  complete 
his  preparation  for  college,  he  was  sent  to  quite  a  noted 
school  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  kept  by  Isaac  Webb. 

In  the  fall  of  1838,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  entered 

497 


LIVES   OB"   THE    PRESIDENTS. 

Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  an  institution  situated  forty 
miles  north  from  Columbus,  in  the  village  of  Gambier. 
In  college  he  excelled  as  a  debater.  He  was,  however, 
a  good  general  student,  especially  in  logic,  mental  and 
moral  philosophy,  and  mathematics.  "•  He  was  remark- 
able," says  one  of  his  classmates,  "for  great  common- 
sense  in  his  personal  conduct ;  never  uttered  a  profane 
word ;  behaved  always  like  a  considerate,  mature  man." 
Another  classmate  says,  "  Hayes  had  left  a  memory 
which  was  a  fascination,  a  glowing  memory ;  he  was 
popular,  magnanimous,  manly  ;  was  a  noble,  chivalrous 
fellow,  of  great  promise."  On  his  graduation  day  Ruth- 
erford delivered  the  valedictory  address,  —  the  sign  of 
the  highest  honor  the  faculty  could  bestow  upon  a 
member  of  his  class.  Although  the  youngest  in  years, 
he  was  then  accounted  the  oldest  in  knowledge. 

Soon  after  his  graduation,  Mr.  Hayes  began  the  study 
of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  Sparrow  of  Columbus. 
Here  again  the  young  student  showed  great  diligence, 
as  well  as  good  moral  character.  On  the  22d  of  August, 
1843,  he  entered  the  law  school  of  Harvard  University, 
and  finished  the  course  of  lectures  in  January,  1845. 
The  law  department  of  the  University  was  at  this  time 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Justice  Story,  whose  eminence 
as  a  jurist  is  only  surpassed  by  that  of  his  bosom  friend 
the  great  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall.  Hayes  enjoyed 
the  friendship  of  Story,  and  also  of  Professor  Simon 
Greenleaf,  who  bore  testimony  to  his  diligence,  exem- 
plary conduct,  arid  demeanor.  While  pursuing  his  law 
studies  at  the  school,  he  also  profited  by  the  additional 
advantage  which  a  residence  in  Cambridge  and  his  mem- 
bership of  the  University  afforded  him.  He  attended 


RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES.  499 

the  lectures  of  Professor  Longfellow  on  foreign  litera- 
ture, those  of  Professor  Agassiz  on  the  grand  themes 
of  nature.  In  Boston  he  frequently  listened  to  some  of 
the  model  arguments  of  Webster,  and  in  Quincy  he 
visited  John  Quincy  Adams  at  his  home. 

Leaving  college,  Hayes  returned  to  Ohio,  and  at  once 
proceeded  to  Marietta,  where  the  ambulatory  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State  was  then  in  session.  Having  there 
passed  an  examination,  he  was  admitted  to  practise  in 
the  courts  of  the  State  as  attorney  and  counsellor  at 
law. 

Hayes  began  the  active  work  of  his  profession  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  now  Fremont,  Sandusky  County,  O. 
Fortune  favored  his  ambition ;  and  ere  long  he  had  a 
good  run  of  office  business,  and  was  frequently  employed 
in  cases  of  grave  importance.  In  April,  1846,  he  formed 
a  co-partnership  with  Ralph  P.  Buckland,  an  older 
practitioner,  with  increased  prosperity. 

In  November,  1848,  in  consequence  of  bleeding  at  the 
lungs  and  other  evidences  of  failing  health,  Mr.  Hayes 
left  Fremont  to  pass  a  winter  in  Texas.  He  returned 
to  his  work  in  the  spring,  entirely  recovered.  But  now 
he  began  to  be  restless;  the  field  seemed  too  narrow 
for  him;  he  needed,  as  he  thought,  the  stimulus  of  a 
wider  field.  After  prospecting  for  a  while,  he  hired 
an  office  in  Cincinnati,  —  in  January,  1850,  —  in  the 
hopes  of  attaining  greater  success.  Success  came 
slowly,  but  surely.  He  had  to  work  hard  for  it,  but  he 
did  achieve  it  at  last. 

Two  years  later  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Lucy  W.  Webb.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  James 
Webb,  a  popular  gentleman  and  successful  practising 
physician  in  Chillicothe,  O. 


500  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

The  six  years  following  were  years  of  work,  in  which 
disappointments  were  few,  and  successes  were  many. 
The  people  came  to  know  Mr.  Hayes ;  they  appreciated 
his  worth  and  character ;  so  much  so,  that,  in  1859, 
he  was,  without  any  effort  on  his  part,  chosen  city 
solicitor,  by  the  city  council  of  Cincinnati.  Says  a 
newspaper  of  that  period :  "  It  would  have  been  very 
difficult  to  have  made  any  other  selection  of  a  solicitor 
equally  excellent  and  as  generally  satisfactory."  Mr. 
Hayes  filled  the  office  of  corporation  counsel  for  three 
years,  during  which  time  he  passed  judgment  upon 
questions  involving  large  interests,  and  discharged  with 
fidelity  the  high  duties  of  an  important  trust. 

During  the  national  campaign  of  1860,  Mr.  Hayes 
favored  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Long  before 
the  candidacy  of  Fremont,  he  had  been  a  most  earnest 
and  ardent  opponent  of  slavery.  He  did  not  think  the 
Union  should  be  destroyed  to  make  slavery  perpetual ; 
he  had  always  desired  to  mitigate,  and  finally  eradicate, 
that  evil.  He  had  prayed  for  the  election  of  Gen.  Har- 
rison for  the  sake  of  the  country ;  he  had  cast  his  first 
vote  for  Henry  Clay,  his  second  for  Gen.  Taylor,  and 
his  third  for  Gen.  Scott.  But  the  old  Whig  party  hav- 
ing ceased  to  be  a  living  organization,  he  gave  his  whole 
heart  to  the  Republican  party  and  its  cause,  and  by 
political  speeches  and  in  other  ways  helped  forward  the 
movement  in  favor  of  equality  of  rights  and  laws. 

The  attention  of  the  country  was  called  to  him,  and 
in  the  Republican  National  Convention  of  1876  he 
received  the  nomination  for  President,  with  William  A. 
Wheeler  as  Vice-President,  against  the  opposing  candi- 
dates, —  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 


RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES.  501 

The  electoral  campaign  was  very  enthusiastic,  with  the 
contending  parties  nearly  equally  divided ;  and  when 
the  votes  were  cast  it  was  found  that  the  contest  was 
only  just  begun. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1877,  the  country  was 
in  a  state  of  great  excitement  respecting  the  result  of 
the  presidential  election.  The  votes  of  Florida,  Loui- 
siana, and  South  Carolina  were  counted  by  the  canvass- 
ing boards  with  a  result  in  favor  of  the  Republican 
presidential  electors.  This  result  would  give  Mr. 
Hayes  one  majority,  and  secure  his  election.  The  Dem- 
ocrats, however,  asserted  that  the  canvassing  boards  in 
each  of  the  above-mentioned  States  had  made  an  unjust 
canvass,  that  the  popular  vote  in  each  had  been  in 
favor  of  the  Democratic  electors  by  a  considerable 
majority,  that  legal  Democratic  votes  in  large  num- 
bers had  been  rejected,  and  that  by  the  people  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency  had  been 
elected.  The  certificates  of  the  results  in  each  State, 
sent  to  Washington  under  the  official  seal  of  the  respec- 
tive governors,  gave  the  election  to  Mr.  Hayes  by  one 
vote.  As  the  question  was  likely  to  cause  much  trouble 
in  Congress,  an  Act  was  passed  to  refer  all  contested 
cases  to  a  commission  consisting  of  senators,  represen- 
tatives, and  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  This  "elec- 
toral commission,"  so  called,  met,  examined  all  the 
evidence  (whether  impartially  or  not  the  future  will 
decide),  and  declared  Mr.  Hayes  elected.  The  people 
acquiesced  in  the  decision,  and  the  new  President  was 
duly  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March  of  the  same 
year. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  term  of  service,  President 


502  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Hayes's  policy  in  regard  to  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs 
in  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  —  a  policy  which  was 
wholly  conciliatory  and  just  —  caused  much  dissatisfac- 
tion to  many  of  the  members  of  the  Republican  party, 
but  was  warmly  approved  by  the  general  public.  He 
also  undertook  to  effect  a  reform  in  the  civil  service 
by  the  appointment  to  office  of  men  only  of  the  best 
character  and  attainments,  with  less  regard  to  political 
influence.  Public  officers  were  forbidden  to  interfere 
in  elections,  and  members  of  Congress  to  dictate  in  the 
matter  of  patronage.  This  way  of  striking  at  the  root 
of  abuses  appeared  to  find  no  favor  with  the  Republi- 
cans ;  and,  indeed,  all  of  the  recommendations  to  Con- 
gress, in  this  direction,  were  often  chiefly  sustained  and 
carried  through  by  the  Democratic  members. 

During  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  which  assembled 
on  Oct.  15,  it  became  manifest  that  the  Republican 
majority  in  the  Senate  was  very  small,  that  there  was  a 
lack  of  harmony  between  the  President  and  his  party, 
and  that  he  could  not  rely  upon  its  undivided  support  of 
his  measures.  At  this  session,  also,  the  first  measure 
of  a  re-actionary  nature,  relating  to  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  country,  was  introduced.  It  was  technically 
designated  as  the  "  Silver  Bill."  The  results  of  the 
financial  legislation  of  Congress,  since  the  close  of  the 
Rebellion,  had  been  to  replace  all  the  bonds  of 
the  United  States  which  had  been  issued  (payable, 
either  principal  or  interest,  in  currency  or  "  greenbacks  ") 
with  new  bonds  for  a  longer  period,  in  which  both  prin- 
cipal and  interest  were  to  be  paid  in  coin  ;  also  to 
demonetize  silver,  or  to  take  from  it  its  legal-tender 
feature,  thereby  rendering  bonds  and  future  specie  pay- 


RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES.  503 

merits  payable  in  gold ;  and  also  the  passage  of  an  Act 
requiring  the  resumption  of  the  payment  of  specie  or 
all  Government  legal-tender  notes  on  Jan.  1,  1879. 
This  involved  the  payment  of  specie  or  national  bank 
notes  and  other  similar  obligations.  The  commercial 
transactions  of  the  country  had  been  shrinking  since 
September,  1873 ;  and  with  its  immense  indebtedness  to 
governments,  corporations,  and  individuals,  a  state  of 
insolvency  and  extreme  depression  prevailed  through- 
out the  year.  The  "  Silver  Bill "  was  the  first  legisla- 
tive expression  of  the  point  of  re-action  to  which  the 
public  mind  had  at  that  time  reached.  It  subsequently 
passed  Congress  over  the  President's  veto  by  more  than 
the  necessary  two-thirds  majority. 

The  payment  of  specie  in  the  discharge  of  public 
contracts,  which  had  been  suspended  for  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  a  generation,  was  fixed  by  law  to  commence 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1878.  The  resumption,  there- 
fore, entered  into  the  consideration  of  every  commer-, 
cial  and  financial  enterprise.  It  became  a  political 
question,  also,  and,  with  other  incidental  ones,  led  to 
the  formation  of  a  national  party. 

The  general  course  of  the  Administration  during 
1878-79  was  uneventful,  though  the  assault  made  upon 
it  in  the  latter  year  resulted  in  successes  for  the 
Republicans  at  the  fall  elections.  The  success  of  the 
resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  the  abundant  crops, 
increased  the  prosperity  of  the  people,  and  diminished 
their  anxiety  on  financial  issues. 

In  1880  the  tenth  census  of  the  United  States  was 
taken  by  a  provision  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  It 
showed  a  total  population  of  50,155,783  living  in  the 


504  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

States  and  Territories.  Of  this  number,  43,475,840 
were  native,  and  6,679,943  were  foreign  born.  The 
ratio  of  colored  to  white  was  as  about  1  to  7. 

"With  but  little  else  than  the  affairs  of  peace  and 
quiet  to  be  considered,  with  but  few  changes  in  any 
part  of  the  Administration,  the  attention  of  the  people 
was  largely  taken  up  in  1880  by  the  canvass  for  the 
presidential  election.  At  the  close  of  the  previous 
year  Gen.  Grant  had  returned  from  his  tour  around  the 
world ;  and  being  again,  as  it  appeared,  on  the  top 
wave  of  popularity,  he  was  once  more  looked  upon  as 
a  possible  candidate  for  renewed  presidential  honors. 

The  State  conventions  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
and  Illinois  instructed  their  delegates  to  the  national 
convention  to  cast  their  votes  unitedly  for  Grant. 
The  prominent  candidates  for  the  Republican  nomina- 
tion, besides  Grant,  were  James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine, 
John  Sherman  of  Ohio,  and  George  F.  Edmunds  of 
Vermont.  The  Republican  convention  met  at  Chicago 
in  June,  and  after  thirty-six  ballotings  (extending 
through  two  days)  nominated  James  A.  Garfield  of 
Ohio.  The  nomination  of  Gen.  Garfield  was  made 
unanimous  on  motion  of  Senator  Conkling  of  New 
York.  Gen.  Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New  York  was 
nominated  for  Vice-President. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  gathered  in 
June  at  Cincinnati,  and  nominated  Gen.  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  Dur- 
ing the  remaining  months  of  the  year,  the  canvass  was 
conducted  with  considerable  warmth  and  activity, 
although  the  leading  question  of  reform  or  change  in 
administration  and  policy  entered  into  the  contest  to 


RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES.  505 

only  a  slight  degree.  The  issues  of  the  past,  and  the 
contests  of  sections,  were  still  dwelt  upon,  and  the 
resources  of  political  management  were  brought  into 
full  play  to  secure  the  result. 

The  election  took  place  on  the  2d  of  November, 
and  the  plurality  of  Garfield  over  Hancock  was  3,033 
votes.  The  electoral  votes  cast  on  the  6th  of  Decem- 
ber were  for  Garfield,  214 ;  for  Hancock,  155. 

The  administration  of  President  Hayes  was  closed 
March  4,  1881,  without  special  incident. 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

IN  a  humble  log  cabin,  in  the  wilderness  of  Ohio,  a 
little  fair-haired,  blue-eyed  boy  was  bor^i  on  a  bleak 
November  day,  1831.  The  winds  whistled  through 
the  crevices,  mingled  with  the  barking  of  hungry 
wolves  in  the  woods  close  at  hand,  to  greet  the  little 
stranger.  But  a  warmer  welcome  awaited  him  within, 
where  in  love  and  joy  he  was  christened  James  Abrani 
Garfield. 

When  he  was  eighteen  months  old,  his  father  died, 
leaving  to  the  broken-hearted  mother  four  children  and 
a  rough  frontier  farm.  The  task  was  before  her,  and 
must  be  accomplished;  and  with  the  aid  of  the  two 
older  children  she  worked  wonders  upon  the  farm. 
Four  years  after  his  father's  death,  a  schoolhouse  was 
built  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  and  James  attended  with 
his  two  sisters.  The  three  R's,  with  spelling  and  geog- 
raphy, were  the  only  branches  taught ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  boy  could  read,  he  devoured  every  book  that  came 
within  his  reach.  He  had  a  most  remarkable  memory, 
and  would  often  commit  long  passages  of  poetry.  The 
trees  about  the  house  he  named  after  noted  Indian 
chiefs,  and,  while  yet  a  lad,  would  climb  a  high  ledge 

607 


508  LIVES   OP   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

of  rock  in  tlie  neighborhood,  and  deliver  long  harangues 
to  imaginary  audiences. 

As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  he  worked  diligently 
upon  the  farm  during  his  spare  time  ;  but  he  constantly 
declared  that  he  would  rather  be  a  carpenter,  while 
his  mother  as  persistently  wished  for  him  to  be 
a  teacher  or  a  preacher.  When  James  was  twelve 
years  old,  he  virtually  took  control  of  the  farm  ;  for  his 
brother  —  who  was  then  twenty-one  —  left  home  to 
work  upon  a  clearing  in  Michigan.  He  tried  hard  to 
fill  his  brother's  place,  but  he  could  never  throw  his 
whole  soul  ir^fco  the  work.  He  was  reading  and  study- 
ing continually,  and  his  thirst  for  knowledge  was  con- 
stantly N  increasing. 

In  the  fall  his  brother  returned  with  enough  money 
to  hire  a  carpenter  to  improve  upon  the  log  cabin,  which 
was  fast  falling  to  pieces.  James  watched  the  building 
with  keen,  observant  eyes ;  and  before  the  house  was 
completed  he  had  learned  a  good  part  of  the  trade, 
and  practised  it  beside.  The  carpenter  was  so  much 
pleased  with  the  cleverness  with  which  James  used  his 
mallet,  chisel,  and  plane,  that  he  said,  "  I  think  I  will 
have  to  employ  you  when  I  want  an  extra  hand."  The 
brother  went  back  to  Michigan,  and  the  future  Presi- 
dent turned  again  to  the  work  of  the  farm.  But  his 
restless  spirit  longed  for  a  wider  field.  If  he  could 
only  earn  some  money,  he  would  be  able  to  buy  books. 
Passing  the  carpenter's  shop  one  day,  he  saw  a  pile  of 
boards  at  the  door,  waiting  to  be  planed ;  and,  stepping 
inside,  he  asked  for  a  job.  "  I  will  give  you  a  cent  a 
board,"  said  the  carpenter.  To  his  surprise  the  lad 
began  the  work  so  eagerly  that  before  night  he  had 


JAMES   A.   GARFIELD.  509 

carefully  planed  a  hundred  boards,  each  twelve  feet 
long.  This  was  the  first  money  which  he  had  ever 
earned.  But  the  boy  who  could  plane  a  hundred 
boards  in  a  day  did  not  find  it  difficult  to  secure  work 
at  odd  intervals  thereafter,  and  before  long  he  had 
earned  twenty  dollars. 

Soon,  however,  these  tasks  seemed  too  limited  for 
his  ambition;  and  he  applied  to  a  Mr.  Barton,  ten  miles 
away,  for  work  upon  a  shed  he  was  erecting.  He  so 
thoroughly  pleased  his  employer  in  this,  that  he  offered 
young  Garfield  fourteen  dollars  a  month  to  work  in  his 
potash  factory.  This  was  two  dollars  a  month  more 
than  his  brother  was  earning  in  Michigan,  and  James 
•was  delighted.  In  time,  however,  an  insatiable  longing 
to  become  a  sailor  seized  upon  him ;  but  fortunately 
none  of  the  family  favored  his  wild  scheme,  so  that  he 
went  laboriously  on  with  his  work  at  home,  attending 
school  in  the  winter,  reading  whatever  books  he  could 
find,  and  taking  odd  jobs  in  carpentry  to  add  to  the 
family  income. 

At  last  his  mother  gave  her  consent  to  his  trying  one 
trip  on  Lake  Erie,  in  the  ho.pe  of  quieting  his  restless- 
ness ;  and  in  his  ecstasy  the  boy  walked  the  entire  dis- 
tance to  Cleveland.  He  boarded  the  first  schooner 
that  he  found  lying  at  the  wharf,  and  was  told  that  the 
captain  would  soon  be  up  from  the  hold.  Young  Gar- 
field  had  an  exalted  idea  of  the  important  personage, 
and  expected  to  see  a  fine,  noble-looking  man,  such  as 
he  had  read  about  in  his  books,  when  suddenly  there 
came  from  the  hold  an  indiscriminate  collection  of 
terrible  oaths ;  and  the  boy,  stepping  one  side  to  let  the 
drunken  man  pass  him,  was  greeted  by  the  gruff  ques- 


510  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

tion,  "  What  do  yer  want  here,  yer  green  land-lubber?" 
— "  I'm  waiting  to  see  the  captain,"  James  replied. 
"  Wall,  don't  yer  know  him  when  yer  do  see  him  ?  "  he 
shouted.  "  Git  off  my  ship,  I  tell  yer,  double  quick." 
The  lad  needed  no  further  invitation,  but  he  left  on 
board  that  schooner  all  his  fond  fancy  for  going  to  sea. 

While  wandering  about  Cleveland,  he  met  a  cousin 
who  was  captain  of  a  canal-boat,  and  who  offered  him 
twelve  dollars  a  month  to  drive  for  him.  His  first 
exploit  was  to  get  himself  and  his  mules  jerked  into 
the  canal,  where,  getting  astride  one  of  the  mules, 
he  kept  his  head  above  water  until  rescued.  A  very 
little  of  canal-boat  life  was  sufficient  to  assure  him  that 
that,  too,  was  not  his  "  bent ;  "  and  as  soon  as  his  task 
was  completed,  he  returned  to  his  home  with  the  news, 
which  his  mother  gladly  received,  that  he  was  going 
to  fit  himself  to  be  a  teacher. 

He  went  to  Chester,  to  the  academy.  He  had  but 
eleven  dollars  in  his  pocket  at  the  start ;  but  he  found 
the  carpenter  in  Chester  very  willing  to  engage  all  his 
spare  time,  and  by  working  in  his  shop  before  and 
after  school,  and  all  day  Saturday,  Garfield  earned 
enough  money  to  pay  all  his  bills  through  the  term,  and 
carry  home  a  few  dollars.  In  the  debating  society  he 
took  an  active  part,  astonishing  the  students  with  the 
eloquent  appeals  of  their  rough,  ungainly  schoolmate. 
In  the  long  vacation,  he  found  his  first  opportunity  to 
teach  school,  in  his  own  district.  His  first  day  was  a 
series  of  battles  with  the  boys,  but  after  that  a  most 
friendly  relation  was  established ;  and  before  the 
winter  was  over,  he  had  won  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  teacher  that  had  ever  "  kept  school "  at  the 
"  Ledge." 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  511 

In  the  summer  vacation  he  increased  his  small  stock 
of  money  by  working  at  haying  for  the  farmers.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  the  question  of  slavery  began 
to  agitate  the  country.  It  was  laid  for  discussion  at 
the  debating  society  ;  and  one  of  his  schoolmates,  after 
listening  to  Garfield's  fiery  denunciations,  remarked, 
"  Jim  ought  to  go  to  Congress."  The  following  winter 
he  taught  school  in  Warrenville,  where  he  was  paid 
sixteen  dollars  a  month  and  his  board.  In  this  school 
some  of  the  pupils  wanted  to  take  up  geometry,  a 
branch  which  Garfield  had  never  studied ;  but,  buying 
a  text-book,  he  mastered  the  science  after  school-hours, 
and  his  pupils  never  dreamed  but  that  he  was  as  famil- 
iar with  it  as  with  algebra  and  arithmetic. 

The  third  summer  he  taught  school  in  Zanesville, 
whither  he  went  by  the  Cleveland  and  Columbus  Rail- 
road, which  was  his  first  ride  in  the  cars.  While  stop- 
ping at  Columbus,  he  visited  the  Legislature,  and 
afterwards  remarked  that  that  alone  was  worth  a 
month's  schooling. 

In  August,  1851,  he  presented  himself  at  the  Hiram 
Institute,  where  he  secured  the  position  of  janitor,  in 
order  to  work  his  way  through  college.  His  moral  and 
religious  faculties  were  developing  as  rapidly  as  his 
intellectual  powers;  and  his  classmates  and  teachers 
thought,  as  a  matter  of  necessity  almost,  that  he  would 
become  a  preacher  in  the  Church  of  the  Disciples. 

After  spending  three  years  at  Hiram,  he  felt  himself 
fitted  to  enter  the  junior  class  in  almost  any  college, 
and  wrote  to  the  presidents  of  Brown  University,  Yale, 
and  Williams.  They  all  replied  that  he  could  graduate 
in  two  years;  but  President  Hopkins  of  Williams 


512  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

College  concluded  his  letter  with  the  sentence,  "  If 
you  come  here,  we  shall  be  glad  to  do  what  we  can  for 
you."  This  touch  of  friendship  decided  him,  and  in 
1854  he  presented  himself  for  examination.  This  he 
passed  without  difficulty,  and  soon  became  a  great 
favorite  with  his  class,  taking  a  high  standard  for  accu- 
rate scholarship,  and  winning  honors  as  a  writer,  rea- 
soner,  and  debater.  He  was  also  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Philological  Society,  of  which  he  was  afterward 
elected  president. 

While  Garfield  was  at  William stown,  the  anti-slavery 
contest  was  at  white  heat ;  and  at  a  public  gathering, 
he  made  a  powerful  speech,  denouncing  slavery  in 
the  strongest  terms.  At  the  end  of  his  first  college 
year,  he  received  a  tempting  offer  to  teach  in  the  high 
school  at  Troy ;  but,  much  as  he  needed  the  money,  he 
determined  to  finish  his  college  course,  and  graduated 
in  August,  1856.  Upon  his  return  to  his  home,  Mr. 
Garfield  was  immediately  appointed  professor  of  ancient 
languages  and  literature  at  the  Hiram  Institute.  The 
following  year  he  was  elected  president  of  the  institute, 
though  only  twenty-six  years  of  age.  At  one  time,  he 
filled  the  pulpits  at  Solon  and  Newburg  each  Sunday, 
in  aid  of  the  Church  of  the  Disciples.  He  frequently 
preached  at  "  The  Disciples  "  church  in  Hiram. 

Lucretia  Rudolph,  a  bright  and  attractive  girl  who 
had  been  his  schoolmate  at  Hiram  in  earlier  years,  and 
to  whom  his  thoughts  were  often  diverted,  was  now  a 
teacher  under  him.  They  had  corresponded  throughout 
his  college  life,  and  their  long  friendship  now  ripened 
into  love ;  and  on  the  eleventh  day  of  November, 
1858,  they  were  united  in  marriage.  Shortly  after  his 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  513 

marriage,  Garfield  entered  his  name  in  the  law-office  of 
Riddle  &  Williamson,  —  attorneys  in  Cleveland,  O., — 
as  a  student  of  law,  and  all  his  spare  time  was  occu- 
pied with  law-books.  His  capacity  for  work  was  pro- 
digious ;  his  interest  in  politics  intense.  He  would 
spend  the  day  in  teaching,  and,  during  the  campaign 
of  1856,  drive  ten  and  even  twenty  miles  to  speak  in 
some  public  gathering  in  the  evening ;  while  he  preached 
on  Sundays,  almost  without  interruption,  sermons  new, 
crisp,  and  vigorous,  all  the  while  carrying  on  the  study 
of  the  law,  and  attending  to  the  outside  duties  encuni- 
bent  on  him  as  president  of  the  institute.  In  1859 
Williams  College  honored  him  with  an  invitation  to 
deliver  the  masters'  oration. 

In  1860  he  was  elected  State  senator,  though 
scarcely  thirty  years  of  age  at  the  time,  the  youngest 
member  of  the  Senate.  In  less  than  ten  years  from  the 
time  when  he  first  visited  Columbus,  and  rode  for  the 
first  time  in  a  railway-car,  he  became  one  of  the  most 
prominent  members  of  the  State  Senate.  During  his 
second  term  in  the  Legislature,  Fort  Sumpter  was  fired 
upon,  and  President  Lincoln  issued  the  call  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  men.  The  proclamation  was  hardly  read 
in  the  Senate  when  Garfield  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
moved  that  Ohio  should  contribute  twenty  thousand 
men  and  three  million  dollars  as  the  quota  of  the  State. 

As  quick  to  act  as  to  speak,  Garfield  immediately 
offered  his  services  to  Gov.  Dennison,  who  sent  him  to 
Missouri  to  obtain  five  thousand  stands  of  arms,  that  Gen. 
Lyon  had  placed  there.  Later  he  was  sent  to  Cleveland 
to  organize  the  seventh  and  eighth  regiments  of  Ohio 
infantry.  He  was  offered  a  colonelship  in  one  of  them, 


514  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

but  declined  because  he  had  had  no  military  experience  ; 
he  agreed,  however,  to  take  a  subordinate  position  if  he 
could  serve  under  a  West  .Point  graduate.  This  promi- 
nent position  he  was  finally  compelled  to  fill,  however, 
and  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  join  Gen.  Buell's 
forces  at  Louisville.  Gen.  Buell  made  Col.  Garfield 
commander  of  the  eighteenth  brigade  of  the  Army  of 
the  Ohio. 

At  the  very  outset,  Garfield  signalized  himself  for 
rapid,  desperate,  and  successful  action  ;  equal  to  any 
emergency,  and  ready  day  and  night.  It  was  through 
his  immediate  agency  that  Kentucky  was  entirely  rid 
of  the  Rebel  hordes,  and  President  Lincoln  appointed 
Col.  Garfield  brigadier-general.  During  the  wearisome 
siege  of  Corinth,  a  fugitive  slave  came  into  the  camp  ; 
and  in  a  few  minutes  later  the  master,  riding  up,  with  a 
volley  of  oaths  demanded  his  property.  The  division 
commander  was  a  believer  in  the  theory  that  fugitive 
slaves  should  be  returned  to  their  masters,  and  accord- 
ingly wrote  a  peremptory  order  to  Gen.  Garfield  to  hunt 
for  the  fugitive  and  deliver  him  over  to  his  master.  Gen. 
Garfield  took  the  order,  and  quietly  wrote  on  the  back 
of  it,  "  I  respectfully  but  positively  decline  to  allow 
my  command  to  search  for  or  deliver  up  any  fugitive 
slaves.  I  conceive  that  they  are  here  for  quite  another 
purpose.  The  command  is  open,  and  no  obstacles  will 
be  placed  in  the  way  of  a  search."  When  reminded  by 
one  of  his  officers  that  these  rash  words  might  bring 
him  to  account,  he  replied,  "  The  matter  may  as  well 
be  tested  first  as  last.  Right  is  right,  and  I  do  not 
propose  to  mince  matters  at  all.  My  soldiers  are  here 
for  other  purposes.  Ohio  did  not  send  her  boys  and 
myself  down  here  to  do  that  kind  of  business." 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  515 

The  exposure  and  malarial  atmosphere  of  the  South 
began  to  tell  upon  the  strong  physique  of  the  young 
commander,  and  he  was  ordered  to  relieve  Gen.  Morgan 
of  his  command  at  Cumberland  Gap  ;  and  the  following 
January  he  joined  Gen.  Rosecrans,  in  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  He  became  Rosecrans's 
chief  of  staff,  and  his  confidential  adviser  and  friend. 
In  his  report  of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Gen.  Rose- 
crans wrote,  "To  Brig.-Gen.  James  A.  Garfield,  chief 
of  staff,  I  am  especially  indebted  for  the  clear  and 
ready  manner  in  which  he  seized  the  points  of  action 
and  movement,  and  expressed  in  order  the  ideas  of  the 
general  commanding."  He  received  the  promotion  to 
major-general  for  gallant  service  in  this  battle,  and 
during  the  year  was  elected  in  Ohio  as  representative 
to  the  thirty-eighth  Congress.  President  Lincoln 
urged  him  to  resign  his  commission  and  come  to  Con- 
gress. "  There  are  plenty  of  major-generals,"  said  he, 
"  but  able  statesmen  are  few  and  far  between."  There- 
fore, on  the  5th  of  December,  1863,  after  three  years 
of  military  life,  he  resigned  his  commission,  with  its 
high  emoluments,  for  the  work  of  a  congressman.  He 
filled  in  Congress  the  very  seat  left  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  the  hero  of  his  boyhood. 

Both  by  nature  and  education,  he  seemed  especially 
endowed  for  the  office  of  public  speaker;  and  above 
all  and  through  all  was  the  vital  power  of  a  warm, 
sympathetic,  and  generous  heart.  He  had  been  the 
youngest  man  in  the  Ohio  senate,  the  youngest  briga- 
dier-general in  the  army,  and  now  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
two  found  himself  the  youngest  member  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives.  From  the  very  first,  he 


516  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

made  his  influence  felt ;  and  breaking  down  the  bars 
that  usually  restrict  the  new  and  younger  members  of 
Congress,  he  took  up  the  gantlet,  with  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  N.  P.  Banks,  Roscoe  Conkling,  and  other 
leaders  in  legislative  halls.  Old  members  began  to 
realize  the  growing  power  that  they  had  in  their  midst, 
and  were  not  slow  to  seek  Garfield's  assistance  when* 
they  had  some  important  measure  to  bring  forward. 

The  convention  wished  to  renominate  him,  but  hesi- 
tated, as  it  was  rumored  that  he  was  the  author  of  the 
famous  Wade-Davis  manifesto.  With  a  firm  step  he 
came  upon  the  platform,  and  in  a  brief  speech  declared, 
that,  although  he  had  not  written  the  Wade-Davis 
letter,  he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  authors,  and  that 
if  the  nineteenth  district  of  Ohio  did  not  want  a  repre- 
sentative who  would  assert  his  independence  in  thought 
_anchaction,  it  must  find  another  man.  To  his  astonish- 
ment, he  was  renominated.  He  said,  "  It  was  a  bold 
action  on  my  part  perhaps ;  but  it  showed  me  the  truth 
of  the  old  maxim,  that  '  honesty  is  the  best  policy ; '  and 
I  have  ever  since  been  entirely  independent  in  my  rela- 
tions with  the  people  in  my  district." 

On  his  return  to  Congress,  he  was  placed  upon  the 
ways  and  means  committee,  at  the  request  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  State.  Upon  the  tariff  question  he  said,  "  I 
hold  that  a  properly  adjusted  competition  between 
home  and  foreign  products  is  the  best  gauge  to  regu- 
late internal  trade.  Duties  should  be  so  high  that  our 
manufacturers  can  fairly  compete  with  the  foreign 
product,  but  not  so  high  as  to  enable  them  to  drive  out 
the  foreign  article,  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  trade,  and  regu- 
late the  price  as  they  please.''  Finding  that  no  one  in 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  517 

Congress  had  made  a  business  of  examining  in  detail 
the  various  appropriations  of  public  money,  Garfield 
took  the  arduous  task  upon  his  own  shoulders,  so  that 
he  might  vote  more  intelligently.  Having  made  out 
a  careful  analysis,  he  delivered  it  before  the  House ;  and 
it  was  so  well  received,  that  each  succeeding  year 
another  was  called  for,  till  "  Garfield's  budget  speech  " 
became  an  institution  in  Congress;  and  a  few  years 
later  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
appropriations. 

Directly  after  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln, 
a  furious  mob  gathered  in  the  thoroughfares  of  New 
York,  clamoring  for  revenge.  A  man  suspected  of  Rebel 
sentiments  was  shot  in  the  street ;  and  the  wild  rabble, 
bearing  a  roughly  constructed  gallows,  started  madly 
down  the  street  for  the  office  of  "  The  World,"  when 
suddenly  a  tall,  manly  figure  appeared,  holding  a  small 
flag  in  his  hand.  "  Another  telegram  from  Washing- 
ton," cried  the  excited  mob ;  and,  silenced  for  a 
moment,  the  people  heard  the  stranger  in  clear,  deep 
tones  begin,  "  Fellow-citizens,  clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Him ;  justice  and  judgment  are  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  throne  ;  mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before 
his  face.  Fellow-citizens,  God  reigns,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington  still  lives."  The  crowd  stood 
riveted  to  the  ground.  It  was  a  triumph  of  eloquence 
inspired  by  the  moment,  such  as  falls  to  but  one  man's 
lot,  and  but  once  in  a  lifetime.  Webster  and  Clay 
never  reached  it.  It  silenced  the  maddened  crowd ;  it 
quelled  the  mob.  "  God  reigns,  and  the  Government 
at  Washington  still  lives."  And  when  they  asked  who 
he  was  who  spoke,  some  one  who  knew  him  answered, 
"  It  is  Gen.  Garfield  of  Ohio." 


518  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

A  year  later,  in  Congress,  he  delivered  his  grand 
eulogy  upon  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  martyred  President. 
His  home  in  Washington,  overlooking  Franklin  Square, 
was  one  of  the  pleasantest  resorts  in  the  city,  with  many 
fine  paintings  and  an  elaborate  library ;  for  the  owner 
never  for  a  moment  relaxed  his  love  of  books,  and  his 
mind  was  a  capacious  reservoir.  It  was  a  common 
saying  in  Congress,  that  no  man  in  Washington  could 
stand  before  the  army  of  facts  that  Garfield  could  bring 
forward  at  a  moment's  notice ;  while  the  record  of  the 
Congressional  library  showed  that  he  took  out  more 
books  than  any  other  member  of  Congress. 

In  the  famous  salary  bill,  Garfield  was  in  the  opposi- 
tion, for  he  held  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  increase 
its  own  pay ;  but  those  who  favored  the  plan  had  attached 
it  to  another  bill,  that  he  felt  must  pass.  President 
Hinsdale  says,  "  On  Monday  I  happened  to  pass  the 
room  of  the  committee  on  appropriations,  and  I  found 
Gen.  Garfield  walking  up  and  down  the  corridor.  He 
said  to  me,  'I  have  got  to  decide  in  fifteen  minutes 
whether  I  will  sign  that  bill  or  not.  If  I  do,  I  go  on 
record  as  indorsing  a  measure  that  I  have  been  oppos- 
ing ;  if  I  do  not,  I  lose  all  control  of  the  bill.  It  will 
be  reported  to  the  House  by  Gen.  Butler,  and  he  will 
control  the  debate.  The  session  of  Congress  ends  to- 
morrow ;  and,  if  the  bill  fails  to  pass,  this  Congress  will 
expire  without  making  provisions  for  carrying  on  the 
Government.'  He  signed  the  bill  eventually ;  but  im- 
mediately upon  receiving  his  back  pay,  Gen.  Garfield 
returned  the  money  to  the  Treasury." 

His  record  in  Congress  is  exceptionally  free  from  even 
the  suggestion  of  suspicion.  To  the  Ohio  senate, 


JAMES   A.   GARFIELD.  519 

shortly  after  his  election,  Garfield  said,  "During  the 
twenty  years  that  I  have  now  been  in  the  public  service, 
I  have  tried  to  do  one  thing.  I  have  represented  for 
many  years  a  district,  in  Congress,  whose  approbation 
I  greatly  desired ;  but,  though  it  may  seem  a  little 
egotistical  to  say  it,  I  yet  desired  still  more  the  appro- 
bation of  one  person,  and  his  name  is  Garfield.  He  is 
the  only  man  that  I  am  compelled  to  sleep  with,  eat 
with,  and  die  with  ,  and,  if  I  could  not  have  his  approba- 
tion, I  should  have  bad  companionship."  Nevertheless, 
he  did  not  entirely  escape  the  distressing  ordeal  of 
slander  and  scandal  which  has  been  meted  out  with  a 
generous  hand  to  every  prominent  American.  • 

The  National  Convention  of  the  Republican  party 
that  met  in  Chicago  in  June,  1880,  will  long  be  remem- 
bered in  the  annals  of  the  country.  The  third-term 
question  was  vigorously  pressed.  Three  prominent 
candidates  were  in  the  field,  —  Grant,  Elaine,  and  Sher- 
man, all  vigorously  supported  by  able  men.  Garfield 
was  among  the  delegates  from  Ohio,  and  an  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  Sherman.  The  battle  raged  in  the  con- 
vention till  Saturday  night  without  a  decisive  vote. 
On  Sunday  Mr.  Garfield  said  to  a  friend,  "This  is  a  day 
of  suspense,  but  it  is  also  a  day  of  prayer ;  and  I  have 
more  faith  in  the  prayers  of  to-day  than  in  the  political 
tactics  at  the  convention."  Twenty-eight  ballots  were 
cast  on  Monday  without  result.  On  Tuesday  Wiscon- 
sin made  a  break,  giving  thirty-six  votes  for  James  A. 
Garfield  ;  Connecticut,  Illinois,  and  Indiana  followed. 
Garfield  immediately  rose  to  his  feet,  and  said  that  he 
refused  to  have  his  name  announced  and  voted  for  in 
the  convention.  But  the  chairman  interrupted  him, 


520  LIVES   OP  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

saying  that  he  was  not  stating  a  question  of  order,  and 
the  enthusiasm  for  the  new  candidate  rose  to  a  high 
pitch.  An  eye-witness  wrote  of  it :  "I  shall  never  for- 
get the  expression  on  Garfield's  face,  as  delegation 
after  delegation,  breaking  from  its  moorings,  went  over 
to  him.  He  looked  anxious,  almost  troubled.  When 
the  president  of  the  convention  announced  that  James 
A.  Garfield  of  Ohio  received  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  ballots,  Senator  Conkling  moved  that  it  be  made 
unanimous ;  and  the  nomination  once  made  popular, 
enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds.  The  Republican  party 
throughout  was  well  satisfied."  Gen.  Arthur  of  New 
Yorlf  was  nominated  Vice-president. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Garfield  left  for  his  home  in 
Mentor,  and  the  journey  proved  a  continual  scene  of 
ovations.  At  Cleveland  a  salute  of  a  thousand  guns 
was  fired.  He  had  promised  to  deliver  the  address  at 
the  commencement  exercises  at  Hiram  College,  and  left 
Cleveland  as  quietly  as  possible  for  that  place.  On  the 
way  he  said  to  a  friend,  "  I  never  sought  but  one  office 
in  my  life,  and  that  was  the  office  of  janitor  at  the 
Hiram  Institute." 

The  news  of  the  nomination  at  Chicago  was  received 
with  unfeigned  delight  throughout  the  country.  The 
Republican  press,  too,  was  unanimous  in  his  favor.  In 
the  election  he  carried  twenty  of  the  thirty-eight  States, 
receiving  two  hundred  and  fourteen  electoral  votes. 
Garfield  himself  wrote :  "  I  believe  all  my  friends  are 
more  gratified  with  the  personal  part  of  my  triumph  than 
I  am ;  and  although  I  am  proud  of  the  noble  support 
I  have  received,  and  the  vindication  it  gives  me  against 
my  assailants,  yet  there  is  a  tone  of  sadness  running 
through  this  triumph  which  I  call  hardly  explain." 


JAMES   A.   GARFIELD.  52J 

The   months   which   elapsed   between    the    election 
inauguration  were  spent  by  Garfield  at  his  quiet 
home  at  Mentor.     The  journey  from  Mentor  to  Wash- 
ington  was  another  series  of  ovations.     The  inaugural 
address  was  frequently  applauded  by  the  vast  audience. 
At  the  close  of  the  address,  the  oath  of  office  was  ad- 
ministered by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  James  A  Garfield  became  President  of  the  United 
The  following  day,  the  President  announced 
the  Senate,  m  special  session,  the  following  names  for 
his  cabinet:  James  G.  Elaine,  Secretary  of  State ;  Wil- 
liam Windom,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  Samuel  J. 
Kirkwood,  Secretary  of  the  Interior;  William  H.  Hunt 
Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Secretary  of 
ar;  Thomas  L.  James,  Postmaster-General;  Wayne 
MacVeagh,  Attorney-General. 

Two  great  problems  confronted  President  Garfield 
as  he  assumed  the  reins  of  Government,- the  national 
debt  and  a   half  million  impatient  office-seekers.     In 
the  former    Garfield's  accurate  knowledge  of  political 
economy  and  finance  developed  plans  destined  to  save 
^country  many  millions  of  dollars;  but  the  second 
problem  was  not  to  be  solved  so  easily.     The  baleful 
influence  of  the  spoils  system  was  being  seriously  felt. 
The  theory  had  become  dominant,  that  the  party  owed 
every  supporter  a  living.    President  Garfield  thoroughly 
opposed  the  system,  and  desired  to  make  such  appoint 
ments  as  were  for  the  manifest  good  of  the  whole  coun- 
t  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  this  without 
excitmg :  opposition,  and  a  rupture  in  the  Senate  imme- 
diately followed  :  so  that  the  first  weeks  of  his  admin- 

6rieS  °f  h0^  Contested 


522  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2  the  President  rose  at  an 
early  hour,  preparatory  to  turning  from  the  harassing 
disturbances  of  the  past  few  weeks,  and  seek  rest  and 
recreation  in  a  ten  days'  trip  in  New  England,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  and  a  few  members  of  his  cabinet. 
The  trip  was  intended  to  include  the  commencement 
exercises  at  Williams  College.  Not  a  breath  whispered 
of  impending  danger,  or  a  note  of  warning  sounded  in 
the  clear  atmosphere  of  the  bright  July  morning.  Arm 
in  arm  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  President  passed 
through  the  broad  entrance  door  at  the  railway  station 
and  into  the  ladies'  waiting-room,  which  gave  them  the 
readiest  access  to  the  train  beyond.  The  room  was 
nearly  empty,  as  most  of  the  passengers  had  already 
taken  their  seats  in  the  cars.  As  the  President  passed 
through  the  room,  an  ill-favored  man  suddenly  sprang  be- 
hind him,  and,  taking  a  heavy  revolver  from  his  pocket, 
deliberately  aimed  and  fired.  At  the  sharp  report,  the 
President  turned  his  head  with  a  look  of  surprise,  when 
the  wretch  recocked  his  pistol,  set  his  teeth,  and  fired 
again.  The  President  fell  senseless  to  the  floor.  He 
was  soon  tenderly  placed  upon  a  mattress  and  carried 
without  delay  to  the  White  House.  The  first  ball  had 
passed  through  the  arm  just  below  the  shoulder,  with- 
out breaking  any  bones ;  the  second  entered  just  over 
the  hips.  The  condition  was  most  critical,  and  the  indi- 
cations were  that  he  could  live  but  a  few  hours.  Life 
hung  upon  the  merest  thread,  but  slowly  and  surely 
the  tide  began  to  turn.  Sunday  morning  he  was  pro- 
nounced much  better,  and  in  broken  slumber  he  mur- 
mured to  himself,  "  The  great  heart  of  the  people 
will  not  let  the  old  soldier  die."  Thus  the  Fourth  of 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD.  528 

July  was  ushered  in  with  mingled  feelings  of  hope  and 
fear. 

The  assassin,  Charles  Guiteau,  came  to  Washington 
on  Sunday  evening,  March  6,  and  on  May  18  deter- 
mined to  murder  the  President.  He  had  no  money  ; 
but  on  the  8th  of  June  he  borrowed  fifteen  dollars,  on 
the  plea  that  he  wanted  to  pay  his  board-bill,  and  gave 
ten  of  it  for  a  pistol.  From  that  time  on  he  watched 
his  opportunity.  At  various  times  he  had  almost  suc- 
ceeded before  the  fatal  shot  was  fired.  Thus,  without 
cause  or  provocation,  one  of  the  most  atrocious  crimes 
of  history  was  committed. 

Every  effort  which  love  and  expense  could  suggest 
was  made  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded  man,  and 
every  possible  skill  was  exerted  to  preserve  his  life. 
Early  in  September,  he  was  removed  to  Long  Branch. 
Many  times  the  President  rallied :  many  times  the 
hopes  of  America  were  roused.  But  again  and  again 
re-action  came ;  and  on  the  19th  of  September,  at  10.35 
P.M.,  President  Garfield  died.  The  tolling  of  bells  in 
every  city,  town,  and  village  throughout  the  country 
announced  the  sad  tidings.  Among  the  very  first 
expressions  of  condolence  received  was  a  telegram  from 
Queen  Victoria,  and  another  from  Minister  Lowell. 
The  whole  world  seemed  full  of  sympathy  and 
sorrow. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  the  casket  was  placed  in 
the  parlor  of  the  cottage  at  Long  Branch.  Brief  reli- 
gious services  were  read  by  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Young 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Long  Branch, 
and  the  casket  was  placed  in  a  funeral  car.  At 
Princeton,  the  students  scattered  flowers  along  the 


524  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

track.  At  four  P.M.,  the  train  reached  Washington,  and 
the  casket  was  at  once  borne  to  the  Capitol.  All  night 
long  the  stream  of  visitors  passed  through  the  rotunda. 
At  least  forty  thousand  people  gathered  in  the  Capitol 
to  witness  the  start  of  the  funeral  procession,  while  the 
streets  were  more  densely  thronged  than  on  the  4th  of 
March.  The  Second  Artillery  Band  played  the  funeral 
march ;  and  on  reaching  the  station  the  casket  was 
borne  from  the  hearse  upon  the  shoulders  of  six  sol- 
diers, and  placed  in  the  funeral  car  with  a  guard  of 
honor  of  ten  officers  from  the  army  and  navy.  The 
sad  journey  to  Cleveland  was  marked  by  touching  trib- 
utes of  affection.*  After  lying  in  state  through  Satur- 
day and  Sunday  in  the  Park  at  Cleveland,  the  remains 
of  President  Garfield  were  solemnly  committed  to  the 
tomb  at  Lake  View  Cemetery.  The  twenty-sixth  day 
of  September  was  appointed  by  President  Arthur  as  a 
national  day  of  mourning.  Public  buildings  through- 
out the  country,  and  many  private  residences,  were 
draped  and  decorated  with  beautiful  and  appropriate 
emblems  of  the  nation's  sorrow. 

A  subscription  fund  for  Mrs.  Garfield  and  her  chil- 
dren closed  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  October,  amounting 
to  -f360,345.75.  A  Garfield  monument-fund  was  organ- 
ized in  Cleveland  immediately  after  the  funeral.  And 
thus,  in  many  ways,  the  country  showed  its  warm 
appreciation  for  the  man  who  had  risen  to  be  its  chief 
magistrate,  only  to  fall  before  the  miserable  assassin,  — 
a  martyred  President. 


CHESTER  A.   ARTHUR. 

* 

ABOUT  1820,  a  young  Protestant  Irishman  from 
Ballymena,  Antrim  County,  named  William  Arthur, 
set  sail  for  this  country,  following  the  great  tide  of 
immigration.  He  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Belfast  College,  and  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  desire  to  be  a  Baptist  clergyman.  Persevering  in 
this,  he  was  soon  admitted  to  the  ministry,  and  began 
a  career  of  usefulness  which  only  terminated  in  1875, 
when  he  died.  He  was  in  many  respects  a  remarkable 
man,  and  acquired  a  wide  reputation,  not  only  in  his 
chosen  career,  but  in  the  great  competition  of  authors. 
He  published  a  work  on  "  Family  Names  "  which  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  curiosities  of  English  literature.  For 
eight  years  he  was  pastor  of  the  Calvary  Baptist 
Church  in  New- York  City.  He  married  an  American 
lady,  and  their  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  five 
daughters.  One  of  the  sons  —  Chester  Alan  Arthur  — 
was  born  at  Fairfield,  Franklin  County,  Vt.,  Oct.  5, 
1830. 

In  his  boyhood  he  attended  school  at  Union  Village 
and  Schenectady.  At  the  outset  he  had  certain  advan- 
tages over  most  of  the  children  about  him.  He  was 

526 


526  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

surrounded  by  impressive  influences,  which,  in  the  for- 
mation of  his  character,  had  beneficial  effects.  He  was 
trained  in  a  religious  home  by  a  father  of  piety  and 
learning.  With  such  assistance,  he  was  enabled,  at  the 
early  age  of  fifteen,  to  enter  Union  College ;  and,  two 
years  later,  he  graduated  high  in  his  class.  During  his 
college  course  he  partly  supported  himself  by  teach- 
ing. Having  become  a  member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon 
Society,  he  was  one  of  six  in  a  class  of  a  hundred  who 
were  elected  members  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Soci- 
ety, the  condition  of  admission  to  which  was  high 
scholarship. 

He  chose  the  law  as  his  future  profession,  and  began 
his  legal  studies  immediately  after  leaving  college,  in 
1848,  continuing  to  reside  with  his  father  at  Lansing- 
burg.  In  the  mean  time  he  fitted  boys  for  college ;  and 
in  1851  he  was  principal  of  an  academy  at  North 
Pownal,  Vt.,  at  which  institution,  three  years  later, 
James  A.  Garfield,  then  a  student  in  Williams  College, 
taught  penmanship  during  his  winter  vacation.  Mr. 
Arthur's  career  had  been  marked  by  steady  habits  and 
sturdiness  of  character,  and  he  had  also  proven  the 
excellence  of  his  mind.  While  studying  books,  he  was 
always  a  close  observer  of  the  important  events  of  the 
period  ;  and  by  personal  contact  with  his  father's  friends, 
he  formed  the  character  and  some  of  the  purposes 
which  afterwards  made  him  prominent. 

In  1833  young  Arthur  went  to  New- York  City, 
entered  as  a  student  the  law-office  of  Hon.  Erastus  D. 
Culver,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  the  same  year,  and  at 
once  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Culver,  Parker  & 
Arthur.  Mr.  Culver  had  been  an  anti-slavery  member 


CHESTER    A.    ARTHUR.  527 

of  Congress  from  Washington  County  at  the  time 
when  Arthur's  father  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church 
at  Greenwich  in  that  county.  Gerrit  Smith,  another  of 
the  most  prominent  abolitionists  in  the  country,  was 
also  an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Arthur,  and  sometimes 
occupied  the  latter's  pulpit.  Mr.  Culver,  Mr.  Smith, 
and  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  another  leading  advocate 
of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  were  frequent  visitors  at 
the  Arthur  residence  ;  and  from  intimacy  with  these 
gentlemen,  and  association  with  other  kindred  spirits, 
young  Arthur  naturally  formed  those  sentiments  of 
hostility  to  slavery,  to  which  he  first  gave  public 
expression  in  the  famous  Lemmon  slave  case. 

It  occurred  in  1852.  Jonathan  and  Juliet  Lemmon, 
Virginia  slave-holders,  intending  to  emigrate  to  Texas, 
went  to  New  York  to  take  the  steamer,  bringing  eight 
slaves  with  them,  when  a  writ  was  obtained  from  Judge 
Paine  to  decide  whether  the  slave-law  was  in  force  in 
that  State.  Judge  Paine  ordered  the  eight  slaves  to  be 
liberated.  A  howl  of  rage  went  up  from  the  South,  and 
the  Virginia  Legislature  authorized  the  attorney-general 
to  make  an  appeal.  William  M.  Evarts  and  Chester  A. 
Arthur  were  employed  to  represent  the  people  of  New 
York,  and  they  won  the  case.  It  then  went  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  where  Charles 
O'Conor  was  added  to  the  slave-holders'  cause ;  but 
lie,  too,  was  beaten  by  Evarts  and  Arthur,  and  thus 
a  long  step  was  taken  toward  the  final  emancipation 
of  the  blacks. 

Another  case  was  that  of  Lizzie  Jennings,  a  colored 
woman,  roughly  expelled  from  a  Fourth-avenue  horse- 
car  because  she  was  black,  in  1856.  For  her  Mr. 


528  LIVES   OF   THE    PRESIDENTS. 

Arthur  brought  suit  against  the  railroad  company,  and 
obtained  a  verdict  of  five  hundred  dollars  damages  in 
favor  of  the  colored  woman.  The  money  was  paid 
by  the  road,  and  the  next  day  the  company  issued  an 
order  to  permit  colored  persons  to  ride  on  their  cars. 
Other  companies  quickly  followed  their  example. 

Mr.  Arthur  was  married  in  October,  1859,  to  Miss 
Ellen  Lewis  Herndon  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Capt.  William  Lewis  Herndon,  formerly  a  dis- 
tinguished officer  of  the  United-States  navy,  whose 
bravery  and  heroism  in  the  disaster  to  the  merchant 
steamer,  the  "  Central  America,"  in  1857,  was  recog- 
nized by  Congress  voting  his  widow  a  sum  equal  to 
three  years'  pay  of  a  commander  in  the  navy,  as  a 
token  of  appreciation  of  his  conduct. 

With  an  accomplished  hostess  and  a  genial  host,  the 
Arthur  residence  in  New  York  naturally  became  an 
attractive  social  resort. 

Mr.  Arthur  had  an  inherent  taste  for  military  affairs, 
and  was  an  able  organizer  arid  administrator.  In  1859 
he  was  judge  advocate  of  the  second  brigade  of  New- 
York  militia ;  in  1860,  upon  the  accession  of  Hon. 
Edwin  D.  Morgan  to  the  governorship,  Mr.  Arthur  was 
appointed  engineer-in-chief  on  his  staff.  When  the 
war  broke  out,  Gov.  Morgan  made  Arthur  inspector- 
general,  and  later  quartermaster-general,  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  State.  In  the  latter  position  he  served 
with  marked  ability  till  the  expiration  of  Gov. 
Morgan's  term,  late  in  1863.  He  threw  his  whole  soul 
into  the  work  of  equipping,  supplying,  and  forwarding 
to  the  field  of  battle  the  immense  number  of  soldiers 
furnished  by  the  Empire  State.  As  proof  of  his  capa- 


CHESTER   A.    ARTHUR.  529 

bility,  in  the  report  made  by  his  successor  in  this  office 
—  a  gentleman  of  opposite  politics  —  appears  the 
statement :  "I  found,  on  entering  upon  the  discharge 
of  my  duties,  a  well-organized  system  of  labor  and 
accountability,  for  which  the  State  is  chiefly  indebted 
to  my  predecessor,  Gen.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  who,  by 
his  practical  good  sense  and  unremitting  exertion  at 
a  period  when  every  thing  was  in  confusion,  reduced 
the  operations  of  the  department  to  a  matured  plan,  by 
which  large  amounts  of  money  were  saved  to  the  gov- 
ernment, and  great  economy  of  time  in  carrying  out 
the  details  of  the  same." 

Gen.  Arthur  was  consulted  in  regard  to  the  defences 
of  New- York  Harbor;  and  in  the  winter  of  1861,  as  a 
member  of  a  board  of  engineers,  he  submitted  a  report 
of  importance,  showing  the  condition  of  the  national 
forts,  both  on  the  seacoast  and  on  the  inland  border  of 
the  State.  He  was  present,  by  invitation,  at  the  famous 
meeting  of  "  loyal  governors "  in  1862,  to  discuss 
measures  for  providing  troops  for  the  vigorous  prosecu- 
tion of  the  civil  war.  He  was  the  only  participant  in 
that  important  conference  who  was  not  the  governor 
of  a  State.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  the 
advice  to  President  Lincoln,  upon  which,  two  days 
afterward,  he  issued  the  call  for  three  hundred 
thousand  volunteers. 

In  the  winter  of  1863-64  Gen.  Arthur  resumed  the 
practice  of  the  law,  and  continued  active  in  his 
profession  for  about  ten  years,  still  taking  a  deep 
interest  in  politics.  In  early  life  he  was  identified  with 
what  were  known  as  the  ^  Henry  Clay  Whigs,"  and 
was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  at  Saratoga,  which 


530  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

founded  the  Republican  party  of  New  York.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Central  Grant  Club  in  1868,  and  in 
1879  he  became  chairman  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Republican  State  Committee. 

President  Grant  manifested  his  appreciation  of  Gen. 
Arthur's  ability  by  appointing  him,  in  1871,  to  the 
office  of  collector  of  customs  of  the  port  of  New  York, 
the  most  important  Federal  office  in  the  metropolis. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  four  years'  term,  he  was  again 
commissioned  by  President  Grant  for  another  term. 
When  this  second  nomination  was  sent  to  the  Senate 
for  approval,  it  was  confirmed  unanimously  the  same 
day,  without  the  customary  reference  to  a  committee,  — 
a  courtesy  never  before  extended  to  an  appointee  who 
had  not  been  a  senator. 

He  was  a  faithful  and  efficient  public  official.  His 
conduct  has  been  searched  in  vain  for  an  error  or 
offence ;  yet  after  he  had  served  about  six  years,  he  was 
removed  by  the  Hayes  administration,  and  offered  a 
foreign  mission.  This  he  declined,  and,  on  the  basis  of 
civil-service  reform,  temporarily  held  his  position. 
At  the  opening  of  the  next  session  of  Congress,  the 
President  sent  to  the  Senate  the  nominations  of  two 
gentlemen  as  successors  to  Collector  Arthur  and  Sur- 
veyor Cornell.  They  were  rejected  by  the  Senate,  the 
effect  of  which  was  to  still  retain  Arthur  and  Cornell 
in  office.  Six  months  later,  however,  when  Congress 
adjourned,  the  Administration  took  advantage  of  the 
absence  of  the  Senate,  and  they  were  suspended,  and 
their  successors  took  possession  of  the  offices.  At  the 
next  session  of  the  Senate,  the  influence  of  the  Admin- 
istration proved  sufficient  to  secure  the  confirmation  of 


CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR.  531 

the  successors.  The  controversy  was  remitted  to  the 
Republicans  of  New  York,  and  their  opinion  was  given 
in  the  succeeding  fall  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Cornell  to 
the  governorship  of  the  State  ;  while  Mr.  Arthur  was 
considered  a  candidate  for  United-States  senator. 

A  year  later  Gen.  Arthur  was  among  the  earnest 
advocates  for  the  election  of  Gen.  Grant  to  succeed 
President  Hayes,  and,  as  a  delegate  at  large  to  the  Chi- 
cago convention,  he  labored  for  that  result ;  but  the 
delegates  who  were  opposed  to  a  third  term  for  Gen. 
Grant  combined  and  nominated  Gen.  Garfield.  A  gen- 
eral desire  at  once  arose  in  the  convention  to  nominate 
for  Vice-President  some  advocate  of  Grant  and  a  resi- 
dent of  New- York  State.  The  delegation  from  that 
State  indicated  their  preference  for  Gen.  Arthur ;  and, 
before  the  roll-call  began,  the  nomination  of  Arthur 
was  a  foregone  conclusion.  On  the  first  ballot  he 
•received  four  hundred  and  sixty-eight  votes  against  two 
hundred  and  eighty-three  for  all  other  persons,  and  his 
nomination  was  made  unanimous. 

During  the  session  of  Congress  which  immediately 
followed  his  election  as  Vice-President,  Gen.  Arthur 
spent  much  time  in  the  Senate  chamber,  observing  the 
proceedings,  and  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body  over  which  he  was  to  preside,  prepar- 
atory to  managing  the  affairs  of  his  new  office  with 
ability  and  confidence.  He  took  the  oath  as  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  in  the  Senate  chamber, 
at  the  close  of  the  last  regular  session  of  the  Senate, 
just  as  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  expired,  at  noon  on 
March  4,  1881,  and  immediately  assumed  the  chair 
to  preside  over  the  Senate  in  special  session,  called 


532  LIVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS. 

by  proclamation  of  the  outgoing  President,  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  such  business  and  nominations 
as  might  be  submitted  by  the  new  President. 

This  exciting  and  memorable  session  was  prolonged 
for  seventy-six  days  by  the  efforts  of  the  Republicans 
to  elect  their  nominees  for  prominent  offices,  against 
dilatory  tactics  employed  by  the  Democrats,  and  by  the 
controversy  over  the  nomination  by  President  Garfield 
for  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York  of  William  H. 
Robertson,  who  had  been  one  of  the  New- York  leaders 
at  the  Chicago  convention  who  opposed  the  nomination 
of  Grant  for  a  third  term.  The  parliamentary  compli- 
cations in  the  Senate  began  early  in  this  session  ;  and 
before  the  expiration  of  a  week,  Vice-President  Arthur 
was  obliged  to  decide  by  his  vote  a  very  important 
question,  on  which  the  two  parties  were  arrayed  in 
active  opposition. 

Gen.  Arthur  became  Vice-President  under  favorable 
auspices  and  pleasing  circumstances  ;  but  he  succeeded 
to  the  Presidency  under  conditions  more  unfavorable, 
and  circumstances  more  discouraging,  than  those  which 
have  attended  any  other  President.  The  unfortunate 
controversy  about  the  distribution  of  official  patronage 
which  had  grown  up  between  President  Garfield  and 
members  of  his  party,  most  of  whom  were  or  had  been 
intimate  associates  of  Gen.  Arthur,  had  become  more 
and  more  serious.  The  split  in  the  party  had  widened 
till  a  crisis  was  reached  when  the  New- York  senators 
Coukling  and  Platt  resigned  their  seats  in  the  Senate. 
The  Vice-President  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  pre- 
vent the  break,  but  it  could  not  be  averted.  Political 
excitement  throughout  the  country  had  been  aroused 


CHESTER    A.   ARTHUR.  533 

to  a  high  pitch,  when,  on  July  2,  the  fanatic  Guiteau 
shot  President  Garfield. 

The  attempted  assassination  of  the  President,  under 
such  circumstances,  convulsed  the  nation,  and  created 
grave  apprehensions. 

Cruel  misjudgments  were  formed  concerning  Gen. 
Arthur  and  all  who  were  associated  with  him  in  close 
personal  and  political  relations.  In  some  isolated 
instances  anger  and  desire  for  revenge  were  expressed. 
The  public  mind  was  perturbed  and  restless ;  and  Gen. 
Arthur,  by  the  very  necessity  of  his  position,  became 
the  object  of  most  causeless  and  cruel  suspicions  and 
assaults.  Although  not  directly  charged  with  sympa- 
thy with  the  assassination,  still  he  was  made  to  feel  a 
distrust  which  impaired  his  usefulness,  and  threatened 
his  administration  with  failure. 

President  Garfield  was  shot  July  2,  1881,  when, 
accompanied  by  Secretary  Elaine,  he  was  walking 
through  the  railway  station  in  Washington,  to  take  a 
train  for  New  York;  and  while  he  lay  suffering  and 
gradually  dying  from  the  effects  of  the  wound  made  by 
the  assassin's  bullet,  Vice-President  Arthur  remained 
at  his  residence  in  New- York  City,  refraining  from 
any  participation  in  political  affairs.  The  question  of 
the  inability  of  the  President  to  perform  the  duties  of 
his  office  was  publicly  and  seriously  discussed  by 
many  of  the  leading  statesmen  and  lawyers  of  the 
country.  But  it  was  thought  that  it  would  be  sufficient 
for  the  successor  to  qualify  promptly  in  the  event  of 
the  President's  death ;  and  it  was  maintained  that  the 
cabinet  could  not  take  upon  itself  the  right  to  decide 
when  the  "  inability  "  of  the  President  began  or  ceased. 


534  LIVES   OF   THE   PKESIDENTS. 

Vice-President  Arthur  was  himself  averse  to  taking 
any  action  while  the  President  lived.  Nevertheless,  he . 
realized  that  this  question  might  involve  the  existence 
of  the  government  and  the  liberties  of  the  people ;  and 
after  his  accession,  in  his  first  annual  message  to  Con- 
gress, he  asked  that  body  to  define  the  Constitution  in 
its  specification  of  the  u  inability  "  of  the  President,  as 
one  of  the  contingencies  which  calls  the  Vice-President 
to  the  exercise  of  presidential  functions. 

On  the  death  of  President  Garfield,  on  the  night  of 
Sept.  19,  1881,  the  cabinet  at  once  announced  the  fact 
to  the  Vice-President,  then  in  New- York  City ;  and,  at 
their  suggestion,  Mr.  Arthur  took  the  oath  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  at  2.15  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  at  his  residence,  before  Judge  Brady  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  President  Arthur  immediately  tele- 
graphed to  the  cabinet,  all  of  the  members  of  which 
were  at  Elberon :  — 

I  have  your  message  announcing  the  death  of  President 
Garfield.  Permit  me  to  renew  through  you  the  expression  of 
sorrow  and  sympathy  which  I  have  already  telegraphed  to  Attor- 
ney-General MacVeagh.  In  accordance  with  your  suggestion,  I 
have  taken  the  oath  of  office  as  President  before  the  Hon.  John  K. 
Brady,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
I  will  soon  advise  you  further  in  regard  to  the  other  suggestion  in 
vour  telegram. 

C.    A.    ARTHUR. 

In  accordance  with  the  custom  of  having  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
administer  the  oath  to  the  President,  on  Sept.  22  the 
oath  of  office  was  again  taken  before  Chief-Justice 
Waite.  This  ceremony  having  been  performed, 


CHESTER   A.    ARTHUR. 


535 


President  Arthur  read  his  inaugural  address.  It  was 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  nation  that  two 
ex-Presidents  were  witnesses  when  a  new  President 
took  the  oath.  Ex-Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes  occu- 
pied prominent  positions  in  the  room.  The  solemnity 
of  the  occasion  was  heightened  by  the  consciousness  of 
the  fact  that  a  fourth  President  lay  dead  in  another 
part  of  the  Capitol  building. 

As  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Arthur  gave 
the  country  an  administration  with  which  little  fault 
has  been  found.  To  a  friend  he  said,  early  in  his 
administration,  "  My  sole  ambition  is  to  enjoy  the 
confidence  of  my  countrymen."  His  cabinet,  selected 
with  deliberation,  acted  in  cordial  unity  with  him  and 
with  each  other.  The  only  changes  were  caused  by  the 
death  of  two  of  the  members. 

During  Arthur's  administration,  the  tariff  laws  were 
partly  revised,  with  a  view  to  a  reduction  of  revenue, 
while  giving  "  aid  and  protection  to  American  labor." 
The  public  debt  was  reduced  nearly  $500,000,000, 
internal  revenue  stamp  taxes  were  repealed,  and  the 
number  of  collection  districts  was  reduced.  The 
entire  postal  service  was  greatly  improved.  Letter- 
postage  was  reduced  from  three  cents  per  half  ounce 
to  two  cents  per  one  ounce,  and  newspaper-postage  and 
rates  on  printed  matter  generally  were  also  reduced. 
Provision  was  made  for  adjudication  of  the  French  spo- 
liation claims,  which  had  long  awaited  payment,  and  for 
the  final  distribution  of  the  remainder  of  the  $15,000,- 
000  paid  by  Great  Britain  to  the  United  States  in  satis- 
faction for  claims  of  American  citizens  for  losses 
sustained  on  account  of  depredations  by  Rebel  cruisers 


536  LIVES    OF   THE    PRESIDENTS. 

^fitted  out  in  British  ports.  Affairs  of  the  Indians  were 
wisely  conducted,  and  progress  made  toward  the  edu- 
cation of  Indian  children. 

In  three  or  four  instances,  when  the  President's  con- 
victions of  public  duty  would  not  permit  him  to  assent 
to  Acts  of  Congress  presented  to  him  for  approval,  he 
exercised  his  veto  power  in  moderate  language,  arous- 
ing no  feelings  of  hostility.  His  personal  relations 
with  senators  and  members,  without  distinction  of 
party,  were  of  the  most  cordial  character. 

The  last  official  act  of  President  Arthur  was  pecul- 
iarly appropriate.  Reciprocal  regard  had  often  been 
manifested  between  ex-President  Grant  and  President 
Arthur.  In  his  later  years  Gen.  Grant  had  become  dis- 
pirited by  reason  of  disappointment  and  serious  losses ; 
and  President  Arthur,  having  deep  sympathy  for  the 
hero  of  Appomattox,  in  his  last  annual  message,  rec- 
ommended that  Congress  should  vote  to  the  general  a 
pension,  commensurate  with  his  character  and  past  ser- 
vices. While  this  plan  was  taking  shape,  Gen.  Grant 
announced  publicly  that  he  would  not  accept  a  pension. 
Immediately  President  Arthur  came  to  the  rescue  with 
a  more  practical  suggestion,  by  which  adequate  relief 
could  be  given  to  his  friend  without  wounding  his 
pride,  and  at  the  same  time  a  vote  of  confidence  and 
faith  in  the  old  commander  could  be  publicly  given  by 
the  representatives  of  the  people  of  the  whole  country. 
This  suggestion  found  ready  response  in  Congress.  A 
bill  was  promptly  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Mr. 
Edmunds  of  Vermont,  authorizing  the  President  to 
appoint  on  the  retired  list  of  the  army  of  the  United 


CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR.  537 

States,  "  from  among  those  who  had  been  generals 
commanding  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  or  gen- 
erals-in-chief  of  said  army,  one  person  with  the  rank 
and  full  pay  of  such  general  or  general-in-chief,  as  the 
case  may  be."  Mr.  Edmunds  said,  "  Every  senator  will 
see  the  object  and  purpose  and  application  of  the  bill. 
It  will  authorize  the  President  of  the  United  States  to 
appoint  Ulysses  S.  Grant  on  the  retired  list  of  the  army, 
and  it  will  enable  the  United  States  to  pay  this  act 
of  gratitude  and  justice  to  Gen.  Grant."  The  bill 
passed  both  Houses,  and  it  was  with  unmistakable  sat- 
isfaction that  President  Arthur  wrote  his  signature  of 
approval  upon  it. 

A  subject  of  universal  comment  was  the  graceful 
demeanor  of  President  Arthur  during  the  ceremonies 
at  the  Capitol,  attending  the  inauguration  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Grover  Cleveland,  and  when  he  afterward  rode 
through  Pennsylvania  Avenue  beside  the  new  Presi- 
dent, and  then  for  hours  stood  or  sat  by  Mr.  Cleveland 
in  front  of  the  Executive  Mansion,  participating  in  the 
grand  review,  —  an  imposing  and  remarkable  demon- 
stration in  honor  of  the  return  to  power  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  after  an  exclusion  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century. 

Gen.  Arthur  did  not  long  survive  after  retiring  from 
the  presidential  office.  He  died  of  apoplexy,  at  his 
residence  in  New-York  City,  Nov.  18,  1886.  His 
remains  were  taken  to  Albany,  and  buried  by  the  side 
of  those  of  his  wife,  in  the  family  burial-place  in  Rural 
Cemetery.  The  funeral  in  New- York  City  was 
attended  by  President  Cleveland  and  his  cabinet,  Chief- 


538  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Justice  Waite,  ex-President  Hayes,  Hon.  James  G. 
Elaine,  Gens.  Sherman,  Sheridan,  and  Schofield,  the 
surviving  members  of  President  Arthur's  cabinet,  by 
many  other  officials,  and  "by  a  concourse  of  true 
friends. 


GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

THE  return  of  the  Democratic  party  to  power  was 
signalled  in  the  election  of  Grover  Cleveland  to  the 
presidential  office  in  1884.  He  is  descended  from  an 
old  English  family,  with  the  record  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years  in  America.  The  family  first  settled  in 
Connecticut,  and  its  history  has  been 'chiefly  one  of 
religious  activity.  Dr.  Aaron  Cleveland,  an  ances- 
tor of  the  President,  was  an  Episcopalian  minister  in 
Philadelphia,  an  intimate  friend  of  Benjamin  Franklin, 
at  whose  home  he  died  in  1757.  Benjamin  Franklin 
wrote  of  the  death,  in  "  The  Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  of 
which  he  was  then  editor :  "  His  death  is  greatly 
lamented  by  all  who  knew  him,  as  a  loss  to  the  public, 
a  loss  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  in  particular  to  that 
congregation  who  had  proposed  to  themselves  so  much 
satisfaction  from  his  late  appointment  among  them." 
He  left  a  son,  born  in  East  Hadclam,  Conn.,  in  1744, 
who,  shortly  after  his  father's  death,  returned  to  Con- 
necticut, and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
Norwich,  distinguishing  himself  by  his  opposition  to 
slavery.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Legis- 
lature, and  introduced  the  bill  for  the  abolition  of 

639 


540  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

slavery  in  his  State.  He  was  also  a  minister  of  the 
Congregational  Church. 

Richard  Falley  Cleveland,  the  father  of  the  Presi- 
dent, was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  graduated  from  Yale 
College  in  1824,  and  from  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary  as  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  Grover  Cleve- 
land's mother  was  a  Baltimore  lady.  The  young  clergy- 
man's first  parish  was  in  Windham,  Conn. ;  the  second  at 
Portsmouth,  Va. ;  and  the  third  at  Caldwell,  N.  J.,  where 
Grover  Cleveland  was  born  on  the  18th  of  March,  1837, 
the  fifth  of  nine  children. 

When  three  years  old,  his  father  was  called  to  the 
church  at  Fayetteville,  near  Syracuse,  N.Y.,  where  the 
children  made  diligent  use  of  the  village  school,  and  in 
1851  removed  to  Clinton  with  his  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, where  hfs  salary  was  a  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
which  was  much  in  increase  of  what  he  had  been 
receiving.  While  here,  Grover  was  obliged  to  accept 
a.  position  in  the  village  store,  adding  materially  to  the 
resources  of  the  family  by  his  salary  of  fifty  dollars  a 
year.  In  1853  his  father  died ;  and,  forced  to  any 
alternative  to  increase  the  limited  resources  of  the  fam- 
ily, Grover  secured  a  situation  as  bookkeeper  and 
assistant  teacher  in  an  institution  for  the  blind  in  New- 
York  City,  though  at  the  time  he  was  only  sixteen 
years  old. 

A  year  later  he  set  out  for  the  West,  determined  to 
seek  a  wider  field,  where  possibly  he  might  accomplish 
his  earnest  desire  of  becoming  a  lawyer.  In  Buffalo 
he  met  an  uncle,  who  gave  him  a  temporary  position 
with  small  remuneration,  sufficient  for  his  necessary 
expenses,  and  in  a  few  months  secured  him  a  position  in 


GROVER    CLEVELAND. 


541 


the  law  office  of  Messrs.  Rogers,  Bowen,  &  Rogers.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1859.  When  the  war  broke 
out,  he  was  anxious  to  become  a  soldier  ;  but  two  of  his 
brothers  went  into  the  army,  and  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  remain  at  home  to  assist  the  family. 

In  politics  he  was  what  was  known  as  a  war  Democrat ; 
and  in  1863  he  was  appointed  assistant  district-attorney 
for  the  county  of  Erie.  In  1870,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three,  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Erie  County,  at  the  close 
of  which  term  of  service  he  entered  into  a  law-partner- 
ship with  Mr.  W.  S.  Bissell,  in  the  firm  of  Cleveland  & 
Bissell,  which  continued  until  he  was  elected  governor 
of  New  York. 

As  a  lawyer,  he  was  fluent,  terse,  and  forcible.  His 
clear  apprehension  of  legal  principles,  and  his  logical 
statement  of  them,  rendered  him  successful.  His  law- 
partner  said  of  him,  that  he  never  knew  a  man  capable 
of  so  many  hours  of  strenuous  mental  labor  as  Mr. 
Cleveland;  but  that  he  was«jiever  so  industrious  as 
when  working  for  the  rights  of  some  poor  man.  As  a 
friend  and  companion,  he  was  genial  and  unassuming, 
frank,  generous,  and  open-hearted. 

There  had  grown  up  a  decided  dissatisfaction  in  Buf- 
falo with  the  way  in  which  the  city  government  was 
managed;  and  in  1881  many  Republicans  were  ready 
to  unite  with  the  Democrats  in  the  election  of  a  mayor, 
provided  an  able  and  upright  man  could  be  found  for 
a  candidate.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  the  one  selected.  He 
at  first  refused  to  have  his  name  used  in  nomination, 
being  too  much  occupied  in  his  profession.  He  was  at 
length  forced  to  accept  the  nomination,  however ;  and, 
though  the  city  is  largely  Republican,  he  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  thirty-five  hundred. 


542  LIVES    OF   THE    PRESIDENTS. 

A  few  months  after  assuming  office,  one  of  the 
Republican  journals  of  the  city  said  of  him  :  "  The 
people  feel,  without  distinction  of  party,  that  they  have 
in  Mayor  Cleveland  an  able,  fearless,  upright  chief 
magistrate,  who  will  not  abuse  the  trust  reposed  in  him, 
but  will  use  his  best  endeavors  for  their  welfare,  and  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  city."  In  the  eleven 
months  that  he  was  mayor,  he  saved  the  city  of  Buffalo 
over  a  million  dollars,  and  at  the  very  outset  of  his 
public  career  became  somewhat  celebrated  for  the  dar- 
ing common-sense  of  his  vetoes. 

The  year  1882,  in  a  political  view,  was  memorable 
and  influential  in  the  history  of  the  country.  There 
had  been  a  growing  discontent  among  the  Democrats 
and  Republicans,  which  was  rapidly  forming  a  well- 
defined  body  of  influential,  Independents.  A  political 
tidal  wave  was  sweeping  over  the  country.  In  New 
York  a  most  astonishing  revolt  took  place,  the  Inde- 
pendent vote  showing  to  what  an  extent  it  had  grown. 
In  1880  Garfield  received  twenty-one  thousand  more 
votes  in  New  York  than  Gen.  Hancock;  but  the 
majority  which  the  State  gave  to  Grover  Cleveland,  in 
his  nomination  for  governor,  was  such  as  had  never 
before  been  received  by  any  candidate  in  any  State  in 
the  Union.  Grover  Cleveland  had  fully  justified  the 
expectations  of  the  people  of  Buffalo.  He  had  put 
down  dishonesty  in  the  government  in  their  city,  and, 
in  doing  so,  showed  an  executive  ability  of  a  high 
order,  an  independence  of  party,  strength  of  will,  and 
a  practical  way  of  dealing  with  public  questions,  that 
had  won  for  him  many  favorable  opinions ;  and  in  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  his  nomination  for  the 


GROVER   CLEVELAND.  543 

governor  of  New  York  was  most  enthusiastically 
received.  He  had  come  to  Buffalo  with  no  other  capi- 
tal than  honesty,  integrity,  industry,  and  common- 
sense.  Unaided,  he  had  advanced  step  by  step,  till  he 
had  won  an  honorable  place  in  the  community ;  ifid  a 
majority  of  192,854  as  candidate  for  governor  of  New 
York  was  convincing  proof  of  the  position  which  he 
held  in  the  State. 

On  the  day  before  his  inauguration  as  governor,  he 
went  to  Albany,  and  spent  the  night  at  the  Executive 
Mansion.  On  the  following  day  he  walked  through 
the  throngs  of  people  crowding  the  streets  to  the  Capi- 
tol, and,  unrecognized,  entered  the  building.  As  soon 
as  the  simple  ceremony  of  the  inauguration  was  over, 
he  entered  the  office  of  the  Executive  and  quietly 
began  his  work. 

Here,  again,  the  daring  common-sense  with  which  he 
exerted  the  veto-power  attracted  wide  attention. 
Political  agitators  were  not  slow  to  make  the  most  of 
these  vetoes  to  arouse  a  feeling  of  hostility  ;  but  in  the 
end  it  olearly  appeared  that  the  governor  had  done  few 
things  in  his  public  career  which  were  so  much  to  his 
honor. 

In  his  public  record,  as  well  as  in  his  private  life,  Mr. 
Cleveland  has  shown  a  profound  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  the  people  of  all  classes,  and  a  close  attention  in  the 
proper  and  economical  use  of  their  money.  His 
administration  as  governor  of  New  York  was  most 
acceptable,  notwithstanding  the  vetoes.  His  acts  uni- 
formly indicated  intentions  consistent  with  his  profes- 
sions. During  his  administration  there  was  an  earnest 
and  general  movement,  irrespective  of  party  ties,  in 


544  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

the  direction  of  reform ;  and  it  was  universally 
acknowledged  that  the  Executive  chair  was  filled  by  a 
man  fully  identified  with  the  movement,  though  the 
Executive  was' a  Democrat  and  the  Legislature  Repub- 
lica%  It  is  doubtful,  if  the  two  had  been  politically 
one,  if  more  efficient  support  could  have  been  given  in 
the  matter  of  reform. 

The  governor  also  identified  himself  conspicuously 
with  the  subject  of  civil-service  reform.  His  dignity 
and  manliness  of  character  and  unwavering  firmness 
continually  won  for  him  the  respect  and  admiration  of 
all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  left  a  deep 
impression  of  his  ability,  uprightness,  and  thorough 
independence.  Thus  it  was  altogether  natural  that 
there  should  arise  in  the  party  a  strong  movement  in 
favor  of  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  when  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  met  in  1884. 

Mr.  Tilden  was  of  course  the  first  choice  of  the  State 
of  New  York ;  but  as  soon  as  his  letter  was  published, 
positively  and  emphatically  declining  a  second  nomina- 
tion, Grover  Cleveland's  name  became  identified  with 
the  movement.  A  circumstance  which  greatly  favored 
his  prospects  as  candidate  was  the  relation  toward  him 
of  the  Independents.  All  the  circumstances  conspired 
to  rouse  the  Democratic  party  as  a  whole  to  the  level 
occupied  by  its  best  and  leading  men.  The  question  of 
civil-service  reform  played  an  active  part,  and  the 
prominent  men  in  the  Democratic  Convention  instinc- 
tively turned  to  Grover  Cleveland  as  the  most  appro- 
priate nominee.  The  Convention  met  in  Chicago,  July 
8,  and  was  organized  by  the  selection  of  Gov.  Hubbard 
of  Texas  as  temporary  chairman,  and  Col.  Vilas  of 


GROVER   CLEVELAND.  545 

Wisconsin  as  permanent  chairman.  The  candidates 
put  in  nomination  were  Senator  Bayard  of  Delaware, 
ex-Senator  Thurman  of  Ohio,  ex-Senator  McDonald  of 
Indiana,  Hon.  John  G.  Carlisle  of  Kentucky,  Gov. 
Hoadley  of  Ohio,  Hon.  Samuel  Randall  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Gov.  Cleveland  of  New  York. 

In  his   address   to   the    convention,  presenting   Mr. 
Cleveland's  name,  Mr.  Lockwood  said,  "  A  little  more 
than  three  years  ago  I  had  the  honor,  at  the  city  of 
Buffalo,  to  present  the  name  of  this  same  gentleman  for 
the  office  of  mayor  of  that   city.      It  was  presented 
then  for  the  same  reason,  for  the  same  causes,  that  we 
present  it  now.     It  was  because  the  government  of  that 
city  had  become  corrupt,  and  political  integrity  sat  not 
in  high  places.     The   people   looked  for  a   man  who 
would  represent  the  contrary,  and  without  any  hesita- 
tion they  named  Grover  Cleveland.     The  result  of  that 
election  and  his  holding  that  office  was  that  in  nine 
months  the  State  of  New  York  found  herself  in  want 
of  such  a  candidate  for  such  a  purpose  ;   and  at  the 
convention   of   1882,   when   his   name   was   placed   in 
nomination  for  the  office  of  governor  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  same  people  knew  that  it  meant  honest 
government.     It  meant  pure  government,  and  it  was 
ratified   by   the   people.      Mr.    Cleveland's    candidacy 
before   this   convention   is   offered    upon   the    ground 
of    his    honor,    his    integrity,    his    wisdom,    and    his 
Democracy." 

Mr.  Cleveland  was  nominated  on  the  second  ballot, 
greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  party.  In  his  accept- 
ance of  the  nomination,  he  displayed  himself  as  the  same 
earnest  and  sincere  advocate  of  justice  and  reform. 


546  LIVES   OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

Such  was  the  man  presented  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  opposition  to  James  G.  Elaine,  the 
Republican  candidate  in  1884.  The  campaign  was  one 
of  great  excitement  and  desperate  effort,  carried  to  an 
extreme  at  once  disgraceful  and  demoralizing ;  a 
struggle  in  which  both  parties,  perhaps,  rendered 
unnecessary  offence,  but  in  which  the  supporters  of 
Gov.  Cleveland  followed  more  closely  the  example  of 
their  candidate  in  dignity  and  determination.  With 
the  most  brilliant  statesman  of  America  placed  against 
them,  they  stood  firm  for  their  candidate  ;  and  though 
the  election  was  close,  Gov.  Cleveland  was  chosen  by  a 
decided  majority  to  the  position  of  chief  magistrate ; 
the  first  Democratic  President  to  be  elected  since  the 
selection  of  James  Buchanan  in  1856.  Naturally  this 
long-delayed  victory  placed  the  Democratic  party  in  a 
state  of  exultation  which  could  scarcely  be  controlled. 
But  the  successful  candidate  bore  himself  throughout 
with  the  same  dignity  which  had  characterized  his 
public  life  from  its  beginning ;  the  weight  of  responsi- 
bility, and  the  grave  duties  to  be  imposed  upon  him, 
bringing  more  of  the  serious  than  of  the  joyful  side  to 
his  contemplation. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  with  most  unusual  demonstra- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  people,  he  took  the  oath  of 
office,  and  assumed  the  position  of  President.  As  the 
natural  result  of  the  fiercely  contested  campaign,  he 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  Chief  Executive  with 
many  bitter  political  enemies.  No  President  has 
escaped  them ;  few,  however,  have  found  them  so  deter- 
mined to  crush  every  design  and  ambition,  and  to 
thwart  every  measure  proposed.  It  has  been  difficult, 


GKOVER   CLEVELAND.  547 

if  not  impossible,  for  the  most  vigorous  scandalmongers 
to  lay  either  social  or  political  charge  successfully 
against  the  President.  Nevertheless,  with  an  opposing 
majority  in  the  Senate,  his  feet  were  fettered  and  his 
actions  criticised  without  economy ;  persevering,  how- 
ever, upon  the  same  rules  which  had  characterized  him 
in  other  official  departments,  President  Cleveland  suc- 
ceeded in  administering  the  government  so  thoroughly 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  grave  and  serious  as  to  readily 
indicate  himself  the  only  candidate  for  renomination, 
by  his  party,  at  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  of 
office.  The  contest  was  one  of  the  most  interesting 
since  the  question  of  slavery  roused  public  enthusiasm,, 
but  the  principles  at  issue,  as  pressed  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  proved  unpopular,  and  President  Cleveland 
failed  of  re-election,  Gen.  Harrison  receiving  the  ma- 
jority of  the  electoral  votes. 

President  Cleveland's  administration  was  marked  by 
many  well-advised  reforms,  and  by  a  most  brilliant 
social  event,  when,  for  the  first  time,  a  presidential  wed- 
dinf  was  celebrated  in  the  White  House.  On  the  second 

O 

of  June,  1886,  the  President  was  married  to  Miss 
Frances  Folsom,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  a  lady  possessed  of 
a  brilliant  education  and  every  personal  charm.  Though 
only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  Mrs.  Cleveland  stepped 
at  once  into  the  high  position  of  "  first  lady  of  the  land  " 
with  grace,  dignity,  and  good  sense,  which  at  once 
won  for  her  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  the  whole 
country,  and  made  her  a  universal  favorite. 


WOUNG    FOLKS' r 

r-^^--^-^^  ROOKS  OF  TRAVEL 

DRIFTING    ROUND    THE    WORLD;    A  Boy's  Adventures  by 

Sea  and  Land 

By  CAPT.  CHARLES  W.  HALL,  author  of  "  Adrift  in  the  Ice-Fields,"  "  Tht 
Great  Bonanza,"  etc.     With  numerous  full-page  and  letter-press  illustra- 
tions.    Royal  Svo.     Handsome  cover.     $1.75.     Cloth,  gilt,  $2.50. 
"Out  of  the  beaten  track"  in  its  course  of  travel,  record  of  adventures, 
and  descriptions  of  life  in  Greenland,  Labrador,  Ireland,  Scotland,  England, 
France,  Holland,  Russia,  Asia,  Siberia,  and  Alaska.     Its  hero  is  young,  bold, 
and  adventurous;  and  the  book  is  in  every  way  interesting  and  attractive. 

EDWARD  GRE'EY'S  JAPANESE  SERIES 
YOUNG  AMERICANS  IN  JAPAN  ;  or,  The  Adventures  of  the 

Jewett  Family  and  their  Friend  Oto  Nambo 

With  170  full-page  and  letter-press  illustrations.     Royal  Svo,  7  x  93  inches. 
Handsomely  illuminated  cover.     $1.75-     Cloth,  black  and  gold,  $2.50. 
This  story,  though  essentially  a  work  of  fiction,  is  filled  with  interesting  and 
truthful  descriptions  of  the  curious  ways  of  living  of  the  good  people  of  the 
land  of  the  rising  sun. 

THE   WONDERFUL   CITY   OF  TOKIO;  or,  The  Further  Ad- 

ventures  of  the  Jewett  Family  and  their  Friend  Oto  Nambo 

With  169  illustrations.     Royal  Svo,  7  x  9^  inches.     With  cover  in  gold  and 

colors,  designed  by  the  author.     $1.75.     Cloth,  black  and  gold,  $2.50. 

"  A  book  full  of  delightful  information.  The  author  has  the  happy  gift  of 
permitting  the  reader  to  view  things  as  he  saw  them.  The  illustrations  are 
mostly  drawn  by  a  Japanese  artist,  and  are  very  unique."—  Chicago  Herald. 

THE  BEAR  WORSHIPPERS  OF  YEZO  AND  THE  ISLAND 
OF    KARAFUTO ;    being   the   further    Adventures    of   the 
Jewett  Family  and  their  Friend  Oto  Nambo 
180  illustrations.     Boards,  $1.75.     Cloth,  $2.50. 

Graphic  pen  and  pencil  pictures  of  the  remarkable  bearded  people  who  live 
in  the  north  of  Japan.  The  illustrations  are  by  native  Japanese  artists,  and 
give  queer  pictures  of  a  queer  people,  who  have  been  seldom  visited. 

HARRY   W.  FRENCH'S  BOOKS 
OUR  BOYS  IN   INDIA 

The  wanderings  of  two  young  Americans  in  Hindustan,  with  their  exciting 

adventures  on  the  sacred  rivers  and  wild  mountains.    With  145  illustrations. 

Royal  Svo,  7x9^  inches.     Bound  in  emblematic  covers  of  Oriental  design, 

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While  it  has  all  the  exciting  interest  of  a  romance,  it  is  remarkably  vivid  in 
its  pictures  of  manners  and  customs  in  the  land  of  the  Hindu.  The  illustra- 
tions are  many  and  excellent. 

OUR   BOYS   IN   CHINA 

The  adventures  of  two  young  Americans,  wrecked  in  the  China  Sea  on  their 
return   from   India,  with   their   strange   wanderings   through   the   Chinese 
Empire.     188  illustrations.     Boards,  ornamental  covers  in  colors  and  cold 
$1.75.     Cloth,  $2.50. 
This  gives  the  further  adventures  of  "  Our  Boys  "  of  India  fame  In  the  land 

of  Teas  and  Queues. 

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IN  FOREIGN  LJNDS  U  OPTIC 


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YOUNG  AMERICA  ABROAD 


First  Series. 
I     OUTWARD   BOUND ;   OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  AFLOAT. 

II.    SHAMROCK  AND    THISTLE;    OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA 
IN  IRELAND  AND  SCOTLAND. 

III.  RED  CROSS ;  OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  ENGLAND  AND 

WALES. 

IV.  DIKES   AND    DITCHES;    OR,   YOUNG    AMERICA    m 

HOLLAND  AND  BELGIUM. 

V.    PALACE  AND   COTTAGE ;  OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA    IN 
FRANCE  AND  SWITZERLAND. 

VI.    DOWN  THE  RHINE;    OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  GER, 

MANY. 

Second  Series. 

I.     UP   THE  BALTIC;  OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  NORWAY, 
SWEDEN,  AND  DENMARK. 

II.    NORTHERN  LANDS;  OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  RUSSIA 
AND  PRUSSIA. 

III.  CROSS  AND    CRESCENT;    OR,  YOUNG    AMERICA  IN 

TURKEY  AND  GREECE. 

IV.  SUNNY  SHORES ;  OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  ITALY  AND 

AUSTRIA. 

V     VINE  AND    OLIVE ;   OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  IN  SPAIN 
AND  PORTUGAL. 

VI     ISLES   OF  THE  SEA;   OR,  YOUNG  AMERICA  HOME- 
WARD BOUND. 


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. TJ 

AND  [_J    ^       ^       m          I^jLUmiZ 

'REEZY      -  -  -  -  BY  SIX   BRIGHT   WOMEN 


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A   SUMMER   IN   THE   AZORES,  with  a  Glimpse  of  Madeira 
By  Miss  C.  ALICE  BAKER.     Little  Classic  style.     Cloth,  gilt  edges,  $1.25.- 

"Miss  Baker  gives  us  a  breezy,  entertaining  description  of  these  picturesque 
islands.     She  is  an  observing  traveller,  and  makes  a  graphic  picture  of  the 
quaint  people  and  customs." —  Chicago  Advance. 
LIFE   AT   PUGET   SOUND 
With  sketches  of  travel  in  Washington  Territory,  British  Columbia,  Oregon, 

and  California.     By  CAROLINE  C.  LEIGHTON.     i6mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

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cannot  fail  to  help  the  Indian  and  the  Chinese."  —  WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 
EUROPEAN   BREEZES 


vpor_ 

"A  very  bright,  fresh  and  amusing  account,  which  tells  us  about  a  host  of 
things  we  never  heard  01  before,  and  is  worth  two  ordinary  books  of  European 
travel."  —  Woman's  Journal. 

BEATEN  PATHS  ;  or,  A  Woman's  Vacation  in  Europe 
By  ELLA  W.  THOMPSON.    i6mo,  cloth.    $1.50. 

A  lively  and  chatty  book  of  travel,  with  pen-pictures  humorous  and  graphic, 
that  are  decidedly  out  of  the  "  beaten  paths  "  of  description. 
AN   AMERICAN   GIRL  ABROAD 
By  Miss  ADELINE  TRAFTON,  author  of  "His  Inheritance,"  "  Katherine 

Earle,    etc.     i6mo.     Illustrated.     $1.50. 

"  A  sparkling  account  of  a  European  trip  by  a  wide-awake,  intelligent,  and 
irrepressible  American  girl.  Pictured  with  a  freshness  and  vivacity  that  is 
delightful.  —  Utica  Observer 


CURTIS   GUILD'S   TRAVELS 

fo  Em 

Lands 


BRITONS  AND  MUSCOVITES;  or,  Traits  of  Two  Empires 

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OVER  THE  OCEAN;  or,  Sights  and  Scenes  in  Foreign  Land 
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Cloth,  $2.50. 

"  The  utmost  that  any  European  tourist  can  hope  to  do  is  to  tell  the  old 
story  in  a  somewhat  fresh  way,  and  Mr.  Guild  has  succeeded  in  every  part  of 
his  book  m  doing  this."  —  Philadelphia  Bulletin. 
ABROAD  AGAIN  ;  or,  Fresh  Forays  in  Foreign  Fields 

U5!,  T1  ,*wlth   "  Over  the  Ocean-"      By   the   same    author       Crown  8vo. 
Cloth,  $2.50. 

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as  an  invaluable  guide  to  those  who  go  '  over  the  ocean,'  as  well  as  an  inter- 
esting companion."  —  Halifax  Citizen. 

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EROES 

HISTORY 


By  GEORGE  MAKEPEACE  TOWLE. 
Handsomely  Illustrated.    Price  per  vol.,  $1.25.    Sets  In  neat  boseft, 

VASCO     DA     GAMA: 
HIS    VOYAGES    AND    ADVENTURES. 
"  Dn  Garaa's  history  is  full  of  striking  adventures,  thrilling  incidents,  and 
perilous  situations;  and  Mr.  Towle,  while  not  sacrificing  historical  accuracy, 
ha*  BO  skilfully  used  his  materials,  that  we  have  a  charmingly  romantic  tale." 
—  Rural  New-Yorker. 

PIZ  ARRO: 

HIS  ADVENTURES  AND  CONQUESTS. 
"  No  hero  of  romance  possesses  greater  power  to  charm  the  youthful  reader 
than  the  conqueror  of  Peru.  Not  even  King  Arthur,  or  Thaddeus  of  War- 
saw,  has  the  power  to  captivate  the  imagination  of  the  growing  boy.  Mr. 
Towle  has  bandied  bis  subject  in  a  glowing  but  truthful  manner;  and  we 
venture  the  assertion,  that,  werj  our  children  led  to  read  such  books  as  this, 
the  taste  for  unwholesome,  exciting,  wrong-teaching  boys'  books — dims 
novels  in  books' clothing  —  would  be  greatly  diminished,  to  the  great  gain  of 
mental  force  and  moral  purpose  in  the  rising  generation." — Chicago  Alliance. 

MAGELLAN; 

OR,  THE    FIRST   VOYAGE    ROUND    THE    WORLD. 

"What  more  of  romantic  and  spirited  adventures  any  bright  boy  cotud 
want  than  is  to  be  found  in  this  series  of  historical  biography,  it  is  difficult 
to  imagine.  This  volume  is  written  in  a  most  sprightly  manner;  and  th» 
life  of  its  hero,  Fernan  Magellan,  with  its  rapid  stride  from  the  softness  of 
a  petted  youth  to  the  sturdy  courage  and  persevering  fortitude  of  manhood, 
makes  a  tale  of  marvellous  fascination." —  Christian  Union. 

MARCO     POLO: 

HIS  TRAVELS  AND  ADVENTURES. 
"The  story  of  the  adventurous  Venetian,  who  six  hundred  years  ago  pen* 
trated  into  India  and  Catjiay  and  Thibet  and  Abyssinia,  is  pleasantly  ana 
clearly  told ;  and  nothing  better  can  be  put  into  the  hands  of  tho  school  boy 
or  girl  than  this  series  of  the  records  of  noted  travellers.  The  heroism  dis- 
played by  these  men  was  certainly  as  great  as  that  ever  shown  by  conquering 
warrior ;  and  it  was  exercised  in  a  far  nobler  cause,  —  the  cause  of  knowledge 
and  discovery,  which  has  made  the  nineteenth  century  what  it  is." -"Graphic. 

RALEGH: 

HIS    EXPLOITS    AND    VOYAGES. 

"  This  belongs  to  the  '  Young  Folks'  Heroes  of  History  '  series,  and  deal* 
with  a  greater  and  more  interesting  man  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  With 
all  the  black  spots  on  his  fame,  there  are  few  more  brilliant  and  striking 
figures  in  English  history  than  the  soldier,  sailor,  courtier,  author,  and  ex. 
plorer,  Sir  Walter  Ralegh.  Even  at  this  distance  of  time,  more  than  two 
undred  and  fifty  years  after  his  head  fell  on  the  scaffold,  we  cannot  read  his 


etory  without  emotion.    It  is  graphically  written,  and  is  pleasant  reading, 
inly  for  young  folks,  but  for  old  folks  with  young  hearts." — IFoiuan'i 
Journal. 


act  only  for  young  folks,  but  for  old  folks  with  young 

DRAKE: 

THE    SEA-LION    OF    DEVON. 

Drake  wan  the  foremost  sea-captain  of  his  age,  the  first  English  admiral 
to  send  a  ship  completely  round  the  world,  the  hero  of  the  magnificent 
victory  which  the  English  won  over  the  Invincible  Armada.  His  career  WM 
ttirring  bold,,  and  adventurous,  from  early  youth  to  old  age. 

LEE  AND  SHEPAED,  Publishers,  Boston. 


